Person · statistician · India
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis
Also known as P. C. Mahalanobis, Mahalanobis
Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (1893-1972), the founder of modern Indian statistics. Introduced the Mahalanobis distance (1936), still the standard multivariate distance measure; founded the Indian Statistical Institute at Calcutta in 1931 and the journal Sankhyā. As an honorary member of the Planning Commission he designed the Second Five-Year Plan (1956-61) — the Mahalanobis model, which prioritised heavy industry — and led the first national sample surveys from 1950. Fellow of the Royal Society 1945; Padma Vibhushan 1968. His birthday, 29 June, is National Statistics Day.
- Periods
- British Colonial Age, Republic and Living Practice
- Function
- Science & medicine
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
Connections (1)
- Founder ofIndian Statistical Institute, Kolkata
P. C. Mahalanobis founded the Indian Statistical Institute at 203 Barrackpore Trunk Road, Baranagar, Kolkata, in December 1931 — originally a Statistical Laboratory in his rooms at Presidency College. Parliament declared ISI an Institution of National Importance in 1959. From Baranagar he ran the national sample surveys and designed the Second Five-Year Plan.
On these journeys
Sources
Standard reference.
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