Shimla: The 20th National Statistics Day was observed here today, commemorating the birth anniversary of renowned statistician Professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, whose pioneering contributions laid the foundation for India’s modern statistical system. This year’s national theme, Unlocking the Potential of Administrative Data, reflects the growing importance of administrative datasets in enabling evidence-based policymaking, efficient governance and citizen-centric public service delivery in the digital era.
On this occasion, Principal Secretary Economics and Statistics Dr. Abhishek Jain inaugurated the departmental library, marking a significant step towards strengthening knowledge resources and promoting a culture of research and data-driven learning within the department.
Highlighting the significance of the occasion, he said that administrative data generated every day across government departments represents one of the country’s most valuable yet underutilized public assets. If systematically organised, harmonized and securely shared, these datasets can significantly strengthen governance by enabling faster, more informed and evidence-driven decisions.
He stated that governments today are expected to respond quickly to increasingly complex developmental challenges. This requires timely, reliable and granular information that traditional surveys alone cannot always provide. Administrative data generated through routine implementation of government programmes offers continuous, real-time insights that can substantially improve planning, monitoring and evaluation of public policies.
Administrative data has the potential to transform governance from reactive administration to proactive decision-making. It can improve the targeting of welfare schemes, optimize allocation of public resources, strengthen monitoring systems and enhance transparency and accountability across government Dr. Jain said.
He further stressed the need to establish common data vocabularies, standardized classifications and metadata frameworks that make government datasets machine-readable and integration-ready. Such reforms will improve consistency across departments, reduce duplication of efforts and facilitate secure sharing of information wherever legally permissible.
He underlined that maintaining real-time administrative databases, automating beneficiary identification through harmonized datasets and integrating State-sponsored programmes with Central Government schemes will help create a unified view of welfare delivery while improving efficiency and reducing duplication. Governments will ensure that every policy and public intervention is guided by credible, timely, and high-quality evidence, ultimately leading to more responsive governance and improved outcomes for citizens.
Dr. Jain noted that while technological advancements provide significant opportunities, data governance must be built on strong principles of privacy, security and public trust. Administrative data sharing should always be guided by robust legal safeguards, transparent governance mechanisms and clear institutional accountability. The implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act provides an important opportunity to establish responsible, privacy-aware data governance frameworks that balance innovation with citizens rights.
Deputy Director General, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India Dr. J.S. Tomar said that the Government of India has taken number of initiatives for using administrative data for decision-making. He shared that harmonization of administrative datasets represents a critical step towards improving data reuse across government systems. Administrative datasets generated during routine departmental operations can become trusted, machine-readable and integration-ready resources without compromising departmental autonomy.
Economic Adviser Dr. Vinod Rana said that reliable administrative data is no longer merely a record of government transactions. It has become a strategic public asset capable of accelerating inclusive growth, improving public trust and strengthening democratic governance.
