Directorate of Census Operations Punjab partners with The Indian School of Business

Mohali : In a unique initiative to provide census data to researchers, the Directorate of Census Operations, Punjab, Ministry of Home Affairs, today joined hands with the Indian School of Business (ISB) to set up a Census Data Research Workstation. The workstation is set up at the Bharti Institute of Public Policy, a research centre of the ISB. It will provide a consolidated platform for researchers and data-enthusiasts to analyse Census data. Today, an MoU was signed between the two organisations at the Indian School of Business campus in Mohali.

“The India Census is one of the largest and most credible sources of statistical information and is the only source of primary data at village, town and ward level. Given the significance and expanse of Census data, optimum use of raw and processed datasets becomes extremely imperative,” said Dr Abhishek Jain, IAS, Director, Census Operations, Punjab, while formalising the collaboration.

Speaking on this occasion, Professor Ramabhadran Thirumalai, Deputy Dean, ISB, said, “We are happy to collaborate with the Directorate of Census Operations in fostering research collaboration. Often, access to data is a major challenge for researchers. This project will allow greater and efficient utilisation of census data by researchers from various disciplines so that they come up with valuable insights on relevant socio-economic dimensions of the country.”

The statistically enriched reports prepared at the workstation can significantly help policymakers to get evidence-based insights from existing Census data that can aid in the effective formulation and implementation of policies and programmes at national, regional and local levels.