Several Members of Parliament raised concerns about a government bill that proposes to expand the remit of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), arguing that it could curtail the institute’s autonomy. The debate took place during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, on Wednesday.
The committee convened for the first time to examine the Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, after the bill was introduced in Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session. MPs expressed doubts that the new law would preserve the institute’s independence, a point that had already attracted opposition when the bill was first presented. Speaker Om Birla referred the bill to the committee for a detailed review, giving it a three‑month deadline to submit a report, although sources suggest the process may extend beyond that period.
The bill seeks to incorporate ISI as a “body corporate” to strengthen governance and promote academic excellence. It would place the President of India as the institute’s Visitor and establish a Board of Governors as the principal policy executive body. The board would be chaired by an eminent figure from academia, industry, education, public policy, or statistical sciences and would be accountable to the central government. An Academic Council, headed by the institute’s director and comprising all full‑time professors and faculty, would serve as the main academic body.
The proposal also calls for repealing the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, which originally granted the institute national importance and the authority to award degrees in statistics. Amendments in 1995 expanded this to include mathematics, quantitative economics, computer science, and related subjects. Critics argue that the 1959 Act’s limited governance provisions are inadequate for the evolving academic and research environment, and that new legislation is needed to position ISI as a globally recognised centre for statistical sciences and to address India’s talent gap in data science and related fields.
