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was an Indian scientist and applied statistician. He is best known for the Mahalanobis distance, a statistical measure. He did pioneering work on anthropometric variation in India. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute, and contributed to large scale sample surveys.
His father, Prabodh Chandra, was an active member of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. His mother, Nirodbasini, belonged to a family of considerable academic achievements. He graduated in Physics in 1912 and completed Tripos at King's College, Cambridge. He then returned to Calcutta.
Inspired by the Biometrika and mentored by Acharya Brajendranath Seal he started his statistical work. Initially he worked on analyzing university exam results, anthropometric measurements on Anglo-Indians of Calcutta and some metrological problems. He also worked as a meteorologist for some time. In 1924, when he was working on the probable error of results of agricultural experiments, he met R.A. Fisher, with whom he established a life-long friendship. He also worked on schemes to prevent floods.
His most important contributions are related to large scale sample surveys. He introduced the concept of pilot surveys and advocated the usefulness of samplingSampling is that part of statistical practice concerned with the selection of individual observations intended to yield some knowledge about a population of concern, especially for the purposes of statistical inference. In particular, results from probabi methods. He founded the Indian Statistical Institute on 17 December, 1931.
In later life, he contributed prominently to newly independent India's five-year plans staring from the second. He developed the basic model employed in the second and later plans and with colleagues at his Institute played a key role in developing the required statistical infrastructure.
He also had an abiding interest in cultural pursuits and served as secretary to Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur where Tagore is an anglicization of Thakur meaning God) ( May 6, 1861 August 7, 1941), also called Robi Thakur or Gurudev was an Indian poet, Hindu philosopher and nationalist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for lit, particularly during the latter's foreign travels, and also his university Visva-Bharati , for some time.