deepak mohanty : statistics and the reserve bank of india remarks by mr deepak mohanty, executive director of the reserve bank of india, at the statistics day conference, mumbai, 30 august 2013. * * * governor dr. subbarao, prof. bimal roy, prof. richard smith, prof. b. l. s. prakasa rao, prof. subhashis ghoshal, deputy governor dr. patel, deputy governors, colleague executive directors, shri a. b. chakraborty, distinguished guests from the financial sector and academia, members of the press, colleagues from the department of statistics and information management ( dsim ) and friends. i extend a warm welcome to all of you to this 7th statistics day conference. since 2007, we in the reserve bank have been celebrating statistics day in the honour of prof. p. c. mahalanobis. professor mahalanobis was not only an outstanding statistician, but a great visionary. he is regarded as the father of the indian statistical system. while we honour the sterling contribution of prof. mahalnobis, this event has turned out to be an important occasion for focusing on further development of statistics in the reserve bank. prof. mahalanobis was the founder director of the indian statistical institute ( isi ). we are happy that two isi directors – prof. bimal roy and prof. b. l. s. prakasa rao – are here with us today. prof. mahalanobis studied and spent his early years in cambridge. we are delighted that prof. smith, a leading econometrician from cambridge is with us today. we also have with us prof. ghoshal from north carolina university who represents the new generation of statisticians. i once again welcome our guest speakers. the year 2013 has added significance for statistics as it has been declared as the international year of statistics. primary objectives of this worldwide event, supported by several organizations, are to increase public awareness of the power and impact of statistics on all aspects of society, to nurture statistics as a profession, especially among young people, and to promote creativity and development in the sciences of probability and statistics. in the reserve bank, we treat statistics as a public good. it is necessary not only to aid our decision making but also for empowerment of citizens. our statistics department is playing an important role by making available macro - financial statistics in the public domain, conducting forward looking surveys and generating forecasts

and cultural diversity. graduating from roytec sets you apart in your community. it says that you can make a difference in the world. be conscious that as a roytec graduate you have the potential to do something significant and important. you should be aware also that you have the opportunity to be leaders and innovators, and an obligation to help shape your community for the better. oft times, leadership is not what is commonly thought. when i say leaders, i don ’ t necessarily mean politicians or ceos, or church leaders or anything of the kind. the demands on leadership will be with you all your life as parent, supervisor in your office, member of the pta, neighbor or resident in your community. with leadership goes responsibility to those who you lead and to the broader community, be it your neighborhood, your village, your church, or your club. after all, these situations provide an opportunity for you as the leader, to give back. now i know that at times community involvement would be difficult, as you also have to juggle family and career but i encourage you to make the effort. i am sure that you will find it worthwhile. in addition to looking out for the less - fortunate your new status requires you to understand the real imperatives of being a quality citizen in our still - evolving democracy – and by that i mean one who is attuned to and has an opinion on the public issues that affect the society, and who is prepared to stand up and be counted, if and when the need arises. i notice that a significant proportion of the graduands are women and some of you will need to strike a balance between career objectives and family. it is a major challenge but the balance is worth struggling for since the breakdown of the family is at the centre of so many of our societal ills. let me conclude this speech by acknowledging that graduates almost always remember their graduation ( at least they have photographs of it ) but they almost never remember anything from their graduation address. i put the question to my kids and, as i expected, they remembered little or nothing. interestingly enough i remembered something from my graduation speech almost forty years ago and it was this “ education makes us what we are ”. that theme stuck with me not only because it sounded profound, but because my personal experience proved it to be true. i do believe that education has made me, as a person, as a professional and as a member of the community. and