At a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in New Delhi on Wednesday, several Members of Parliament questioned a government bill that proposes to widen the remit of the Indian Statistical Institute. They argued that the proposed law could reduce the institute’s autonomy, a concern that echoes objections raised when the bill was first introduced in the Lok Sabha during the Monsoon session.
The bill, titled Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, was referred by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to the committee for a thorough examination. The committee, chaired by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, was given a three‑month deadline to submit a report, but sources said the process may take longer than the sanctioned time.
The proposed legislation would incorporate the institute as a body corporate, appoint the President of India as its Visitor, and establish a Board of Governors as the principal policy body. The board would be headed by a chairperson chosen from academia, industry, education, public policy or statistical sciences, and would be accountable to the central government. An Academic Council, led by the institute’s director and comprising all full‑time professors and faculty, would serve as the main academic body.
The 1959 Act had declared the institute a national importance institution and allowed it to grant degrees and diplomas in statistics. Amendments in 1995 expanded its degree‑granting powers to include mathematics, quantitative economics, computer science and related subjects. The new bill argues that the 1959 Act offers limited governance, administration, finance, accountability and functioning provisions, and that repealing it will enable comprehensive legislation that positions the institute as a globally recognised centre in statistical sciences and allied fields. The reform is intended to create an ecosystem that trains a new generation of high‑quality data scientists and statisticians, thereby bridging the talent gap in India’s tech and financial sectors.
