Indian Statistical Institute Bill Introduced in Lok Sabha

The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 3 August 2026. The Bill seeks to repeal and replace the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, and to convert the Indian Statistical Institute into a statutory body corporate.

Indian Statistical Institute: Institutional Background

The Indian Statistical Institute, or ISI, is headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. It functions at present as a registered society under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. The proposed law provides a statutory framework for the institution’s governance, administration, and academic functions.

Scope of Statistical Sciences

The Bill expands the definition of Statistical Sciences for the purposes of the institution. The definition includes theoretical statistics, applied statistics, mathematics, economics, data science, computer science, cryptology, and other quantitative sciences. This wider definition covers disciplines used in statistical research, computation, and quantitative analysis.

Governance Structure Under the Bill

The Bill provides for the President of India to serve as the Visitor of the institution. The Visitor will have powers to review the work of the institution, hold inquiries into its affairs, and issue binding directions. The Bill also creates a Board of Governors as the principal policy-making executive body, with a chairperson nominated by the Visitor. The new Board replaces the earlier 33-member Council structure.

Important Facts for Exams

• The Indian Statistical Institute was founded in 1931 in Kolkata and is one of India’s oldest institutions in statistics and mathematics.
• The Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, is the existing central law governing the institute.
• A statutory body corporate is created by law and has legal personality for administration and property management.
• The term Visitor is used in several Indian educational institutions for a constitutional or statutory authority with supervisory powers.

Autonomy and Administrative Control

Faculty, students, and staff at the Kolkata campus have raised objections to the Bill. Their concerns relate to the proposed centralisation of decision-making and the possible reduction of institutional autonomy.