ISI Bill referred to House panel for scrutiny amid faculty concerns
The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, has been referred to a parliamentary standing committee for detailed examination, with a report due in three months.
The Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2026, which seeks to overhaul the legal framework governing the institution, has been referred to the Department-Related Standing Committee on Finance for a detailed review. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla referred the legislation on Tuesday, September 1, 2026, and the committee has been asked to submit its report within three months, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 2 during the Monsoon Session. It proposes to repeal the Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959, and replace it with a comprehensive statute that would incorporate the institute as a 'body corporate'. The government argues that the existing Act has limited provisions concerning governance, administration, finance, and accountability, making it inadequate for the institute to respond to an evolving academic and research environment.
Under the proposed framework, the President of India would serve as the Visitor of the institute. A Board of Governors, headed by a chairperson from academia, industry, education, public policy, or statistical sciences, would act as the principal policy and executive body, accountable to the Central government. The institute would also have an Academic Council, headed by its director, which would serve as the principal academic body comprising all full-time professors and faculty.
The 1959 Act had declared the institute an institution of national importance and empowered it to grant degrees and diplomas in statistics. A 1995 amendment extended this to mathematics, quantitative economics, computer science, and related subjects. The new Bill aims to position the institute as a globally recognised centre in statistical sciences and allied fields, and to help train a new generation of data scientists and statisticians to bridge a talent gap in India's technology and financial sectors.
The referral to the standing committee follows demands from the Opposition, amid protests by the institute's faculty over the proposed changes.