Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics Division

The Indian Statistical Institute, has a long history and its modest beginnings go back to the Statistical Laboratory by the visionary P. C. Mahalanobis. The origins of this Division can be traced to the Research and Training School of the Institute, known worldwide as the RTS.

The RTS made a significant impact on the international scene in statistics and mathematics during the fifties and sixties. RTS hosted distinguished visitors like R. A. Fisher, A. N. Kolmogorov , Yu V. Linnik, Yu V Prokhorov, J. L. Doob, Norbert Wiener, J. Neyman, Abraham Wald and E. J. G. Pitman among others. Its former members and alumni include C. R. Rao, R C Bose, D. Basu, S. N. Roy, S. D. Chatterjee, V. S. Varadarajan, K. R. Parthasarathy, R. Ranga Rao, J Sethuraman, S. R. S. Varadhan, R. R. Bahadur and J. K. Ghosh.

In 1976, the Institute was reorganised into several Divisions. Theoretical Statistics and Mathematics was, and still is, the largest of the Divisions. Initially, the Division had two units one in Kolkata and the other in Delhi; later the Bangalore Unit.

The Division is among the most renowned centers of research in Mathematics & Statistics in India. We have researchers in almost all fields of Mathematical Sciences as well as Statistics and the details can be found in the webpages of individual centers. The Units of the Division are vibrant with large number of seminars, workshops, conferences held every year. We have researchers from across the world visiting us to give seminars and to collaborate with our researchers. The division has a glorious tradition when it comes to contributing to the knowledge base in Statistics and Mathematics.

In various surveys of mathematics research done in India, the Indian Statistical Institute is among the top institutions and the Division is a major contributor to this. Sankhya is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal on statistics published by the Indian Statistical Institute. It was established in 1933. Each volume of Sankhya consists of four issues, two of them are in Series A, containing articles on theoretical statistics, probability theory, and stochastic processes, whereas the other two issues form Series B, containing articles on applied statistics, i.e. applied probability, applied stochastic processes, econometrics, and statistical computing.

Further, our faculty members are also involved in editorial work of other premier research journals from India as well as several other international journals. Several of our researchers are members of premier higher education bodies like NBHM, and are resource persons for various scientific and educational activities of government agencies such as DST, and play a crucial role in implementation of various schemes to promote science in India.

The Division is actively involved in teaching undergraduate, masters and phd level courses. The two undergraduate programs B. Stat. (honours) and B. Math. (honours) are considered as flagship programs of the Institute and have contributed immensely to statistics and mathematics education in India. We have corresponding masters level programs in M. Stat & M. Math. In addition, our faculty teach various courses of MS(QMS), MSQE and other degree programs of the Institute.

In academic activities, our alumni can be seen in mathematics and statistics departments of almost all other Indian institutes of higher learning such as IISc, TIFR, IISERs and IITs , and also in various institutions abroad. Many have contributed their knowledge to industries. Our faculty members take keen interest in conducting Mathematical Olympiad in different parts of the country. We also organise training camps for Olympiad contestants. Several faculty members take summer research fellows and give them an opportunity to learn about pleasures of doing mathematics. Every year we conduct workshops and conferences for researchers on different topics.