New Delhi: The National Statistical Office (NSO), in collaboration with the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education, has launched “Statathon – A Data Journey Towards Viksit Bharat”, a national-level Grand Challenge aimed at transforming India’s statistical systems through emerging technologies. The initiative, launched by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) Secretary Dr Saurabh Garg at an event in New Delhi, seeks to mark 75 years of the National Sample Survey (NSS) by promoting innovation across the data lifecycle.

Organised under the Data Innovation Lab (DI Lab) initiative of MoSPI, the challenge invites participants to develop solutions that can significantly improve how data is collected, processed, analysed, and disseminated. With a focus on Artificial Intelligence and other frontier technologies, the challenge addresses key issues in data accessibility, privacy, processing, and classification. Through Statathon, NSO aims to identify scalable tools that can be integrated into the country’s official statistical framework.

Participants can now register and submit their ideas through the official portal https://gc.mic.gov.in/home. Fifty shortlisted teams will receive mentorship and training in the first phase. In the second phase, 25 teams will be provided financial support of ₹50,000 each to further develop their solutions. Winners in each problem category will be awarded ₹1,00,000, while runner-ups will receive ₹50,000. The Grand Finale is scheduled to take place later this year.

Addressing the event, MoSPI’s Additional Director General R Rajesh highlighted the importance of innovation in unlocking the value of NSS data and encouraged participation from students and researchers. Dr Abhay Jere, Chief Innovation Officer at the Ministry of Education, praised the cross-sectoral collaboration behind the initiative. Director General of MoSPI, P R Meshram, gave an overview of the innovations developed under the Data Innovation Lab, while AICTE Chairman Prof T G Sitharam, in a virtual message, emphasised the long-term potential of the challenge in strengthening data-driven policy design.

Dr Saurabh Garg underlined the strategic relevance of quantum-ready digital infrastructure and encouraged youth and institutions to explore the problem statements with creativity and commitment. “The proposed problem statements align with the ministry’s future direction, and successful solutions could be integrated into the official statistical system,” he said.

Over 300 participants from government, academia, research institutions, and start-ups attended the launch. Statathon reflects the government’s continued push towards a data-driven economy and its commitment to using open innovation for building digital public goods aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat.

BI Bureau