PANAJI: The deputy chairman of State Planning Board, Dr Wilfred de Souza on Tuesday said the office of Planning and Statistics Directorate which is decentralised at the moment, will soon be centralised. This he said will help the Directorate to work more effectively and smoothly.

Dr de Souza was speaking after inaugurating the Statistics Day function, organised by the Directorate of Planning, Statistics and Evaluation at Kala Academy, to commemorate the birth anniversary of renowned statistician P C Mahalanobis. The Statistics Day 2010 was based on the theme, ‘Child Statistics’.

Speaking further, he said that he was delighted that the birth anniversary of professor Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis is commemorated as Statistics Day in India. This is a tribute to his enduring, pioneering and multifaceted contributions to the discipline of statistics. He was a world leader in the discipline.

He said Statistics Day is also meant to recognise the contribution of many statisticians who work in various academic institutions, private enterprises, non profit organisations and other institutions dealing with quality control. They all provide essential information required for optimal decision making in diverse fields, he added.

Commissioner and secretary, planning, Mr Raajiv Yaduvanshi said, "We celebrate Statistics Day not only to honour the memory of the great man, but also to give due recognition to the fact that statistics affects and influences all major decisions we take, big or small in public life, often in ways we may not even realise."

He further said, "As we progress in our path of development towards becoming a knowledge economy, and as we integrate with the international economic order, the role of statistics will become progressively more important. In such a situation, the hallmark of a country’s reputation will be the credibility and transparency of its statistical system and the statistical data emulating from that system."

Mr K V Ramnathan, scientific officer of NIC, was honoured on the occasion for his dedicated services to the Directorate. Prizes to winners of quiz competition held on the occasion were also presented.

Earlier, director of Planning and Statistics Directorate, Mr Anand Sherkane welcomed the gathering. Joint director of the Directorate, Mr Vijay Saxena read out the report of the activities of the Directorate and later proposed a vote of thanks.