Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The Planning & Convergence Department’s Directorate of Economics & Statistics celebrated the 19th National Statistics Day at the State Convention Center of Lok Seva Bhawan in Bhubaneswar. Anu Garg, Development Commissioner-turned-Additional Chief Secretary, seized the opportunity to highlight the importance of a strong statistical framework for tracking advancement toward the Viksit Odisha 2036 and 2047 goals. The state has created a comprehensive database to enable data-driven execution of beneficiary schemes, she said, citing the Subhadra scheme as an example.
Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja outlined a plan to upgrade Odisha’s statistics system to a cutting-edge structure in his inaugural speech.
“The system should function like a mirror, reflecting the socio-economic progress of the state, identifying gaps, and guiding future policy,” he said. He also stressed the importance of institutional capacity building to sustain this vision.
Dr. Bijay Bhusan Nanda, Director, Economics & Statistics, praised the recent modernization efforts made by the Directorate and welcomed the government’s ongoing assistance in bolstering the statistics infrastructure. The National Statistical Office (NSO) is responsible for producing regular statistics for the unorganized sector, according to keynote speaker Ashish Kumar, a former director general of the Ministry of Statistics & Program Implementation. He emphasized how the NSO and state agencies work together to gather and use trustworthy data for planning and policy.
The Directorate’s dynamic and interactive website, the SDG Dashboard for Odisha, and a web portal for data collecting utilizing CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing) survey tools were among the digital efforts presented as part of the festivities. Furthermore, the state officially began the 7th Minor Irrigation Census, the 1st Census of Major & Medium Irrigation Projects, the 2nd Census of Water Bodies, and the 1st Census of Springs.
