Address (Excerpts) by Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, Honourable Vice President to the Indian Statistical Service (ISS) Probationers of the 2023 Batch in New Delhi on December 24, 2023.

Namaskar to all!

My warmest greetings to all of you on your induction into the Indian Statistical Service. Trust me, each year passing, you will get real pride because this service's relevance will be incremental. I am pleased to meet the young, brilliant professionals who will play a crucial role in the evolution of policy majors for building a strong and prosperous BHARAT.

You will reimagine on ground and transform into the reality what our Bharat used to be at one point of time. Your service, my young friends has a rich legacy of contributing significantly to the nation's growth and development. When I was elected to the Parliament in 1989 and I was inducted into the Union Ministry, I was wondering what these two ministry do: Parliamentary affairs and the Ministry concerned with statistics. I learnt with experience they are the most important Ministries.

The relevance of this Institute, the relevance of this particular mechanism, the relevance of this particular department was never more relevant than today. Your contribution will spinally strength the Indian economy, bring about social upliftment and the mission that we must reach effectively, impactfully, the last in the row.

Statistics is not just about numbers; it is about deciphering the patterns and trends that guide our policy decisions. And mind you, a wrong policy can lead to disastrous results. If there is a failure to evolve a timely policy, the people can fail. But if there is a policy in time for the right cause, for the right people, the results are not only rewarding; they are not arithmetic, they are geometric.

Statistics enriches our understanding about society. When you look at the society from a distance or at close quarters, you are only scratching the surface but you delve deep into it. Sometimes what appears to be a really rosy picture, is a cause of serious concern. A person may look healthy but on the deep diagnosis he may be suffering a real serious ailment. So you diagnose societal ailments and help the government to evolve policy that can really bring about a big change.

As officers of the Indian Statistical Service, you will be the architects of evidence-based policy-making and the visionaries who transform numbers into meaningful insights. You are an antidote to ad-hocism; you are an antidote to experimentation the wrong way. You are most rational and scientific in doing your job.

In a world driven by data, your skills and expertise become invaluable asset for effective, responsive and citizen Centric Government. Let me tell you, we are in an age of disruptive technologies. We heard about artificial intelligence, internet of things but you will have to employ technology for your job. You may have to analyse data fast. Machine learning may be a mechanism that will empower you to look at the data from a rational point of view and I am sure all of you devote time to get into that job.

Ethical dimensions of your work can't be overstated. Let me remind you of a real incident, one involving one of the top global five auditing companies. They are nearly the same as yours. When they sign a balance sheet of a company, the shareholders, the stakeholders, must be duly well informed. But that globally reputed company, one of the top five, collapsed because it placated the customer, that is, the corporate management, ignoring the interests of stakeholders. You are, therefore, required to exhibit a higher standard of ethics.

As statistical officers, you are entrusted with a sacred duty—to present data truthfully and impartially. No one wants to look in the mirror, no one wants to face reality. If I start a particular scheme, my ears will receive 'sir the scheme has been a grand success, sir look at what coverage we have got'. You are beyond that. You are not x-ray, you are not CT-Scan, you are not even MRI. You are the finest refinement of MRI to tell frankly, objectively that our data yields this. Rest is for you to take a call.

Your commitment to integrity will not only define your professional reputation but also contribute to building trust in the institutions you represent. My young friends, I urge you to continue cultivating a spirit of curiosity and a commitment to continuous learning. Embrace new methodologies, technologies, and advancements in your field. Collaborate with your peers and other professionals, recognizing that the most innovative solutions often emerge from diverse perspectives. The most illuminating idea can come from a person whom you may take as ignorant or uniformed.

A systemic solution is the only solution. A solution emanating from a brilliant mind which is not systemic oriented doesn't have much shelf life and therefore your role is very very critical. You are the ones who can contribute effectively.

We are lucky to have a Prime Minister who is passionate about development, who has a mission that our Bharat should be taken to 2047 as a developed nation. He is in mission mode, and his achievements are stupendous. The global authorities have recognized it. When we look around, the IMF and World Bank, they all prefer India. India is taken to the favourite destination for investment and opportunities. Look at our situation where we were in terms of the economy just 10 years back. Now we have overtaken the UK and France. Japan and Germany are next by 2030. But these accomplishments will get a qualitative edge with your contribution.

What I never thought will happen when I was of your age but you are now gifted with an ecosystem. Even about 10 years back, our power corridors were invested with powerbrokers. They were leveraging decision making process and you know it, now power corridors have been fully sanitized. This is a very big achievement that will help merit prosper.

Why we feel proud being member of a democratic Nation. BHARAT is mother of democracy the largest democracy because all are equal. Your background will indicates you are not in this service because of  succession, lineage, patronage... No. I am not here because of that also... I am here because of my education, my perspiration, my hard work and scholarship made all the difference. Same is the story all of you imagine after 25 years where you will be? You will be playing a very critical, crucial role in shaping the destiny of this nation. This is because we have a mechanism now where every young person is in a position to exploit his or her talent, to fully realise dreams and aspirations.

We had a legal regime that was colonial driven, that has been unshackled. We had a system earlier 'Dand Vidhan' now we have 'Nyaay Vidhan' because now Naya Vidhan emanates from our civilization ethos of thousands of years.

हमारी संस्कृति है बातचीत करो डायलॉग करो झगड़ा मत करो टकराव मत करो, सहयोग करो। यह सब का देश है, सबका विकास एक साथ होगा। And that is the new norm we are getting advantage of it.

I wish you a great success in your career and I have no doubt the kind of progress this country having on sea ... New Vikrant was launched by the Prime Minister our country.

Never be deterred by those who have poor digestive system for our growth; they are chronic critics. Nothing is more dangerous than a knowledgeable man he knows the truth but he does not speak it. He wants to use the ignorance of others for political equity & that is very dangerous. You are brilliant mind of this country and many like you who may not in the service, they have ample opportunities outside to realise their ambitions. We cannot allow a bad ball for the nation to go unpunished.

We have to believe in our nation. Our nation is our foremost priority. We are proud citizen of the Bharat & Bhartiyata is our culture.

We must take pride in our achievement. While the world is praising, some of us - out of design or out of ignorance seek to demean us. Never be worried about it.

I am a sufferer. A sufferer knows how to withstand inside, take all fronts, all insults with one direction - we are in the service of our Bharat Mata.

If you will have to show your integrity, you will have to show your high ethical standards. There will be pressure and counter pressure. The secretary knows that many have businesses thriving because of statistical data. If he were to reveal his mind, how industry prospers on data, how government policies are moderated by the data. So they think, let us manipulate the data, and our balance sheet will go up. He knows it.

Anyone in the position, even in my position as a constitutional head of Rajya Sabha – I am the Chairman there, I am the Vice-President of this country – people don't spare me. Should that change my mindset? No. Should this result in deviation of my path? No. On the path of rightness, we always must proceed.

But friends, never ignore; there may be another point of view. No one is infallible, no one is too wise to oneself. I might have several things that I need to learn from you. I must absorb them. We must be open-minded; the other point of view sometimes may be right. But those who do it with the design to distract your attention, to derail you from the path of your service, you must show your spinal strength.