Education, Gender Equality, Child Health, Maternal Health, Combat HIVE/AIDS, Environmental Sustainability, Global Partnership. Will achieving these goals fetch a nation the developed status? Does a developed nation ensure the happiness of its citizens? Or rather, can these goals be considered as the ultimate? In the attempts to attain these goals, nations unknowingly have had to invite the adverse effects of development. These ill effects mainly include the lack of a secure, peaceful, uncontaminated and uncorrupted environment for the citizens and other living creatures.
This very thought brings us to the definition of a developed nation given y the former Secretary General of I-IN, Kopi Anna. According to him, “A developed nation is one that allows all its citizens to enjoy a free and healthy life in a safe environment. ” Therefore we have to talk about ‘development’ in a wider spectrum. Clearly, the development of a nation is as hard to achieve as it is to interpret its meaning. It is at this Juncture, we wish we had a magic wand that would reduce the prevailing uncertainty. ‘Statistics’ is no such magic wand.
But, definitely the best option available. Statistics has been aptly defined as an art as well as science of decision making in the face of uncertainty. Decisions based on statistical findings are scientific and enhances desirable outcomes. Most importantly, Statistics helps to quantify the word ‘development’ by providing the measures like income per capita (per person) (gross domestic product), life expectancy, the rate of literacy etc. Further, the UN has developed the Human Development Index (HID) which is a statistical measure that gauges a country’s level of human development.
Thus efficient and proper use of Statistics will reduce the problem in hand at large levels. Therefore we can tell with certainty that the role played by Statistics in the development of a nation s immense. Statistics has a diverse and a wide range of application in today’s world. Statistics is believed to have been practiced from the beginning of mankind. This definitely doesn’t come as a surprise to many. As early as the 3rd or 4th millennium BC India is believed to have possessed a developed civilization with the Harp and Enjoy-Dare civilizations.
These civilizations boasts of well built houses, temples made of bricks and highly populated cities. Later in the 2000 BC, the arrival of the Aryans saw advancements In agriculture Ana Arlington. I Nils type AT rap growth also necessitated studies to be conducted on the growing population. In the early days Swastika’s Arthritis prescribed the collection of population statistics as a measure of state policy for the purpose of taxation. During the time of Kafka the Great, the administration report known as the Main-I-Kabuki included data pertaining to population, industry, wealth, and many other characteristics.
It is these very studies that took into shape of the present days Census, a periodic enumeration of a population, often including the collection of related demographic information. Census finds a mention in the Biblical recordings at the time of Moses. The field of Operations Research originated as a result of planning during World War II. Later, these techniques found popularity in the context of business, industry and society. Soon after the Independence of India in 1947, a communal riot broke out in Delhi. A large number of people of the minority community took refuge in the Red Fort and the Human Tomb.
It was the government’s duty to feed the refugees. The task was entrusted upon contractors and the government was forced to pay the amount quoted by the contractors. Later Statisticians were given the problem of estimating the number of refugees. As most of these Statisticians belonged to the majority, their getting into these areas was considered unsafe. They had access to the bills submitted by the contractors to the government, which gave the quantities of various commodities such as rice, pulses and salt purchased by them to feed the refugees.
Let R, P and S represent the quantities of rice, pulses and salt used per day to feed all the refugees. From consumption surveys, the per capita requirements of these commodities are known, say, r, p and s respectively. Then R/r, P/p and S/s would provide similar estimates of the number of persons. However, the ratio S/s was the smallest value and R/r had the largest value. This indicated that the price of rice was exaggerated as rice was an expensive commodity then and salt was cheap. The estimate S/s was used to determine the number of refugees.
This method proved to be efficient and useful to the government in taking administrative decisions. Ever since, Statistics has been playing a vital role in the development of India. Modern decision making for a government increasingly uses Statistical Methods, thus improving the outcomes. Statistics is used to evaluate the state of affairs, for the wise allocation of available resources, for decision making, and for forecasting and predicting purposes. Statistics plays a pivotal role in supplying the essential scientific information and data in this information driven world.
Statistics has its applications in agriculture, business administration, commerce, marketing, natural sciences, politics, tourism, sports to mention a few. Statistical methods are usually based on the concept of random sampling. This ensures that no unnecessary biases creep in. Most of the time, we can see that the relevant data get mixed up with the original data. Statistics comes to our rescue by exposing the essential facts. The general procedure adopted in a statistical analysis is generation or collection of data, representation of data in tabular form or using graphical method, analyzing and interpreting the conclusions.
Present day statistics reveal that 3 out 4 poor people in developing countries live in rural areas. Most of them depend on agriculture for their livelihoods directly or indirectly. So a more dynamic agriculture will reduce poverty helping to meet the Millennium Development Goals on poverty and hunger. There are many success stories AT agriculture as an Engle AT development cancan’s recent rapid growth in agriculture has been responsible for the decline in rural poverty from 53% in 1981 to 8% in 2001.
Yet, it is a pity that agriculture’s full abilities are used too little in transforming and urbanize developing countries. The importance of Statistics in agriculture is obvious, where the collection, analysis and interpretation of numerical data are concerned. Statistical principles apply in all areas of experimental work and they have a very important role in agricultural experiments. Sample surveys are an obvious choice in collecting data and for deriving valid conclusions within emitted resources and constraints on time.
Design of experiments forms the backbone of any research endeavor in agriculture. It helps in the comparison of different manures or fertilizers, different kinds of varieties of crop, different cultivation processes, and different pieces of land in a field experiment. The pattern of conduct of the cultivation is the choice of the statistician. For instance, whether to adopt a Randomized Block Design or Split Plot Design. Time Series Analysis allows us to study the demand pattern, crop failure pattern and rainfall pattern. Thus,
Statistics mainly help in Cropping system research, Experimental designs for agricultural, animal, agro-forestry and fisheries research and Development of information systems for agricultural and animal experiments. Population Census can be viewed in two aspects. It provides an instantaneous picture of a community-the static aspect. It also provides the trends in population characteristics-the dynamic aspect. The census is primary source of basic national population data required for administrative purposes and for economic and social research and planning.
It also serves as a statistical frame for other censuses and sample surveys. For instance in India, Census provides the necessary data for the Five Year Plans and other Annual Plans. Census helps to decide on the number of seats in Parliamentary/Assembly Constituencies, Penchants. Census data are required for the development of various policies for the welfare of the citizens. Census data, teamed up with the vital and migration statistics, can provide estimates of the future size, distribution and other characteristics of the population of the country.
Further, census data on fertility enables the government to implement policies for the betterment of ‘maternal health’ and reduction of child mortality rate. Thus it allows the government to keep a tab on the economic condition of the growing population, thus implementing programs to ‘reduce poverty. Also the literacy level and unemployment level of a country is revealed through census data. This initiates different schemes that ensure ‘education’ to all. Poverty is a multi dimensional problem. It reflects failures in many dimensions that include hunger, unemployment etc. Statistics helps to determine the poverty level.
Various measures like the Head Count Ratio, Income Gap Ratio, Poverty Gap Ratio are used to identify the seriousness level of Poverty. Statistics also play an important role in Politics. Different political parties can seek the help of Statistics to determine their popularity among the citizens. The exit polls conducted before the declaration of results forecasts the outcome of the election. Democracy defined by “of the people, by the people, for the people” can be put to better implementation if the government would ask the general people their opinions on different policies introduced for their own welfare.
Later statistical analysis can be used to ease the decision making. Statisticians and health data are expected to provide keys to calicles making In Neal care. It Is a global truth Tanat only inanely colleens can contribute to the development of the nation. Statistics can be effectively used in studying the effectiveness of a drug in combating a particular disease. Hospitals implement quality improvement programs to maximize efficiency. Government health agencies gauge the overall health and well-being of populations with statistical information.
The demographic statistics can predict the types of services that people are using and the level of care that is affordable to them. Statistics are important to health care companies in measuring performance success or failure. It also helps in he allocation of scarce medical resources. Statistics helps in providing a secure environment for the citizens. Most of the countries have realized this thus having a separate Statistics Division in the Ministry of Defense. It helps in giving financial advice, manpower planning, evaluation of the existing forces, studying the quality of different equipments and storage techniques.
Statistics can be used in Nuclear Research to expand energy access while reducing costs and environmental impacts. In today’s world, we can see that Sports are a topic of discussion everywhere. We can see even the top leaders giving support to sports. It definitely boosts the reputation of the country. Sports recruiters can use Statistics to check out potential athletes. Sports teams use Statistics to look out for upcoming opponents. Statistics also help to predict which player will bring best results. Thus we can see that Statistics can be used in almost all spheres of life.
Further applications include in Manufacturing Industries, where Statistics studies the current demand pattern in the markets and Quality Control enables the improvement of goods. Statistics helps in the allocation of resources meeting the different constraints on availability, price, time and labor. Planning forms the core of development. Since the inception of science and economics, economists have been concerned with the problems of minimizing and maximizing subjected to the various economic constraints.
Statistics helps in Planning for socio-economic development by providing statistics such as the number of hospitals and schools required in the next ten years, how many people will be unemployed at the end of five years, the items to be exported or imported, to list a few. Statistics helps to reduce road accidents and also helps in the study of traffic flow. Statistics evaluates the performance of stock markets. The whole field of Actuarial Statistics is dedicated to Insurance Companies, where Statistics help in setting the premium rates and initiating different policies and insurance schemes that improve the lifestyle of a common man.
The Central or Reserve Banks set their interest rate based on the Statistical data which includes current state of export or import, economic spending, exchange rate, consumer price index, inflation rate. Statistics also highlights the various environmental hazards around, educating people about global warming and other threats due to pollution. Statistics also helps the government in creating new programmers for the promotion of Tourism. It is rightly said, “The more prosperous a country, the better is its statistics”. This is a statement where the cause and effect can be reversed.
Statistics has left public policy making no longer a gamble with an unpredictable chance of success and failure. It is more scientific, and apt decisions can be taken on the basis of the available data. Today, every government has recognized the importance of Statistics and as a result the government runs organizations like Central Statistics Office or Bureau AT statistics. I nee Include statisticians Ana teeny are Involved In generating ATA, preparing reports, and calculating various measures like gross domestic product, gross national income etc.
Statistics serves to be a feel good factor’. Figures reveal what we were in the past and what we are today, thus motivating a nation to work better. However, the abuse of Statistics can never be neglected. As some Statisticians are not ready to face the reality, data or methods will be faked. This will seriously undermine the whole process. Poor Statistics can lead to insufficient knowledge on various subjects. Thus, true, reliable, independent and comparable statistics are essential for the development of the nation.
