New Delhi, Feb. 26 -- Reliable statistical insights were virtually non-existent when India was still establishing itself as a newly independent nation. The setting up of the National Sample Survey (NSS) in 1950 marked a defining moment in India's post-independence economic planning. Spearheaded by Professor P.C. Mahalanobis, the NSS was designed to bridge critical data gaps in key economic and social indicators. Since its inception, the NSS has been the backbone of evidence-based governance.

Under the stewardship of pioneering statisticians like C.R. Rao, Debabrata Lahiri and V.M. Dandekar, the NSS evolved into a world-class statistical system. In 1951, its scope was expanded to urban India. In 1955, NSS crop cutting experiments (CCE) be...