What are the concerns over the draft ISI Bill, 2025? | Explained

The story so far:

On September 25, the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) released the draft Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025. The bill was met with strong protests from students of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) as well as academics; This move was claimed to be aimed at depriving the institute of its academic autonomy by transforming it “from a registered society into a legal institution”.

What is the importance of ISI?

ISI was founded in Calcutta by PC Mahalanobis in December 1931 and has since become one of India’s most prestigious academic and research institutions. The institute was first registered in April 1932 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 and was later re-registered under the West Bengal Societies Registration Act, 1961. Becoming an association provided the institute with its own charter, statutes and regulations. Parliament passed the Indian Statistical Institute Act in 1959, which declared ISI as an Institution of National Importance (INI).

Many scholars attribute the institute’s origins to the Bengal renaissance and credit it with shaping India’s planning and policy apparatus. The National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) was developed at ISI and formed the basis of India’s official statistical system. Besides PCMahalanobis, the institute has also produced legendary academics like Professor CR Rao and SRS Varadhan.

With approximately 1,200 students and six centers across India, ISI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Statistics, Mathematics, Quantitative Economics, Computer Science, Library and Information Science, Cryptology and Security, Quality Management Science and Operations Research.

Why are academics protesting?

The main concern of those opposing the draft bill is how the institutional status of the ISI will change from a “registered society to a statutory institution”.

A recent letter written by nearly 1,500 academics to MoSPI Minister of State (Independent Charge) Rao Inderjit Singh stated that there is no transparent reason for MoSPI to repeal the (1959) Act, abolish society and introduce a Bill that violates the basic spirit of the agreement between the general body of society and the government. The letter also states that the move to bypass the association registered under the World Bank Societies Registration Act as a “legal entity” violates the jurisdiction of the Societies Registration Act and is against the spirit of cooperative federalism. On November 28, hundreds of students and ISI staff formed a human chain and held a public meeting near the institute’s campus on BT Road in North Kolkata.

Opponents of the draft bill point out that the governance structure, as in the current 1959 Act, empowers a council with academic representation and provides procedural safeguards against excessive government intervention. However, the proposed 2025 Bill gives power to the Board of Governors (BoG), defined under Article 15 of the Act, which is heavily dominated by government nominees, setting aside the authority of faculty and academic stakeholders. Abhirup Sarkar, former ISI professor and chairman of the West Bengal Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation, said ISI is a place where basic research is done, which is a long-term process where immediate results may not be visible. Funding for basic research projects may be an issue in the future, as the draft bill includes a push for an institutional funding model. Section 29 of the proposed 2025 Act relates to ‘revenue generating power’, which includes student fees, consultancy services and sponsored research projects, among others.

Another critical issue raised by those opposing the bill is that all appointments will be controlled by the Union government through the BoG. Previously, of the 33 representatives on the council, there were 10 representatives from the ISI (eight elected, one worker and one scientific worker), slightly less than a third. Now there will be none. Professor Sarkar said there were concerns of political interference in the Union Government’s appointments following the proposed bill.

What does the government say?

The government claims that the idea behind the legislation is the vision to make ISI not only one of the best in India but also one of the leading institutes in the world as the institute approaches its centenary in 2031. Over the years, four review committees have examined the functioning of the ISI, a press release said. In 2020, Dr. The latest report, chaired by RA Mashelkar, recommended major reforms to strengthen management, expand academic programs and make ISI globally competitive.

What lies ahead?

Students and academics are counting on the support of opposition parties against the proposed law. Villupuram MP D. Ravikumar has written a letter to the Union Minister of State (MoPSI) urging him to withdraw the draft Indian Statistical Institute Bill, 2025. Trinamool Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders have also openly opposed the draft law and promised to oppose it if it is tabled in Parliament.