Telangana Agriculture Commission chief calls for greater public awareness of National Statistics Day
Hyderabad: Telangana State Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Commission Chairman M Kodanda Reddy has called for greater media promotion of National Statistics Day, observing that the occasion lacks public awareness compared to other national celebrations.
Kodanda Reddy made the remarks while addressing National Statistics Day 2025 celebrations at the CR Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science on University of Hyderabad campus. The event commemorated statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis’s birth anniversary.
The commission chairman stressed the need to publicise such events to youth given the critical nature of statistics. He pointed out that many national days receive wide celebration but National Statistics Day remains under-promoted.
Kodanda Reddy traced statistics’ foundational role in India’s development from Jawaharlal Nehru’s era through Manmohan Singh’s tenure as Prime Minister. He highlighted how CR Rao and other statisticians advised Nehru on planned national progress, leading to planning commission formation.
The chairman detailed Indira Gandhi’s agricultural reforms including the Green Revolution and land redistribution. He recalled India’s past dependence on food grain imports before achieving self-sufficiency through these policy changes.
Land reforms shifted marginal farmer holdings from 51 percent to 67 percent by 2010-11, while large landholdings dropped from 4 percent to 1 percent, Reddy stated. He linked these changes directly to increased food production.
Telangana’s current agricultural success stems from these historical reforms, according to Kodanda Reddy. The state produces 277 lakh metric tons of paddy from 127 lakh acres, with significant groundwater-fed agriculture.
Former IAS officer M Gopalakrishna emphasised India’s global leadership in statistical science during the celebrations. He noted CR Rao’s 40-year collaborative work established a statistical institute serving as a worldwide beacon for statisticians.
Gopalakrishna highlighted statistics applications ranging from flood preparedness calculations to COVID-19 management and space program data analytics. State Bureaus of Economics and Statistics now operate in every Indian state following foundational statistical work.
The retired bureaucrat stressed systematic learning approaches including study, research and application for effective statistical use in decision-making.
Kodanda Reddy warned about current “lack of financial discipline” affecting national progress. He cited escalating election expenses from thousands to crores without adequate oversight as a concerning trend.