Draft ISI Bill 2025: Autonomy Row at Indian Statistical Institute
Why in the news
Students and academics protested the draft, fearing loss of academic freedom.
Proposals
- Registered society to statutory body corporate.
- Section 29: earnings from fees, consultancy, sponsored research.
- All appointments controlled by the Union Government, raising fears of political interference.
About ISI
- Began as a society; later an Institution of National Importance under the 1959 Act.
- Led to the NSSO; alumni include C.R. Rao and S.R.S. Varadhan.
- Teaches statistics, mathematics, economics, computer science, cryptology, library science and operations research at six centres.
Exam angle
- Founder: P.C. Mahalanobis.
- Ministry: MoSPI.