Dr. Saibal Chattopadhyay Appointed as Chairperson of National Statistical Commission

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of noted academician and statistician Dr. Saibal Chattopadhyay as the Chairperson of the National Statistical Commission (NSC). The appointment is expected to bolster the reform and modernization of India's official statistical systems.

1. Establishment and Recommendations of the Rangarajan Commission

The NSC was set up by the Government of India through a resolution in June 2005. Its establishment was based on the recommendations of the National Statistical Commission (Rangarajan Commission), which submitted its report in 2001. The commission, chaired by former RBI Governor Dr. C. Rangarajan, identified systemic deficiencies in the collection of national statistics and recommended the creation of an independent, permanent statistical regulator to ensure data integrity, policy coordination, and public trust.

2. Mandate and Structure of the Commission

The NSC serves as an advisory body for all official statistical agencies in India. Its mandate includes standardizing statistical methodologies, resolving inter-agency data conflicts, and auditing statistical databases (such as GDP, CPI, and employment data). The commission consists of:

• A part-time Chairperson (who must be an eminent statistician or social scientist).
• Four part-time members specializing in economic statistics, social statistics, and data processing.
• The Chief Executive Officer of the NITI Aayog serving as an ex-officio member.
• The Chief Statistician of India, who serves as the Secretary of the Commission.

3. Statistical Reforms and MoSPI

The NSC functions in coordination with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). MoSPI consists of the National Statistical Office (NSO), which was formed by merging the Central Statistics Office (CSO) and the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) to streamline data operations.