Dr. Praveen Tiwari
One must be wondering that how one can really evolve startups through statistics? So to clear your doubts today we have brought you the Father of Indian Statistics, Padma Shri Prof Bimal Kumar Roy, former Director of the Indian Statistical Institute.
Today we live in the information world and much of this information’s are determined mathematically by Statistics Help. If the information is conveyed so as to prove it right one needs statistics and data’s.
Dr. Praveen Tiwari is speaking to Bimal Kumar Roy, in the exclusive interview about all the possibilities young innovators can find through Statistics.
- How important is statistics in innovation, and what all innovations we will see in the coming years?
– Innovation first starts with your conviction, belief, dream, and vision, this is the start of innovation then one has to do some procedures, and then comes the innovation. In this procedure there is one important thing that is the observation and information you are gaining and whether both of it are supporting your conviction, belief, dream, and vision, or not. So everything is driven by statistics. Now how do you come to a conclusion that from surroundings, from this observation, is your dream a truth or just an imagination? There is a difference between your dream imagination and reality. Your dream becomes reality and the process of bringing the dream to reality is triggered by statistics.
- What is the current situation of statistics in India and what are the possibilities?
– As a statistician I would say that the work is in progress, the government is also working in the same direction. Knowledge is required to know that where proper planning is required, which sector needs the most importance, so before government decides on how to plan, how to invest their resources, what will be the importance for the future; you need to know what is the ground situation what has been the history and depending on that then you put your political priority. Yes, of course, it is government’s job but political priority along with current situation or the history of the country in all aspects is what you call data. Data must be more specific and more accurate or it could be very general also. So Indian government does take help from the statistician, they do have statistical service; I think there are 500-600 ISS officers they are supposed to help them out, interaction with the academician is there but I think it should be increased. I mean academicians should be taken into more confidence that will be only helpful to the government.
- Please tell us some key area where statistics are playing the vital role?
– The first sector is the Finance Sector, Insurance sector, let’s say how do fix the premium of insurance unless you have enough data, how accident happened, who did the accident, how many accidents happened, in which group accident happened and what was the loss, was it a loss of life or just injury. So unless you have all the information you cannot fix the premium so we do statistical modeling putting all information as an input and the output comes for what can be insurance and what premium can be fixed and to bring out the output one needs the statistical methods. Investment bank uses this method heavily, so all these data are used as predictive analytics.
- What kind of possibilities are there for startups and what should students look at statistics for the future?
– The startups should have some statistic ideas; it must involve areas like studying history, current market, see if you don’t plan it well, you cannot simply decide what startup will make, you need to look into observation, needs, data available and then make the decisions, if you fail then your startup will fail.
It is also a million dollar question what makes the startup successful? So I personally like to study if someone would be interested to promote that: why does a startup become successful? But I need help in getting these data’s.
- What are the possibilities of studies in statistics?
– If you have the data then it’s possible but getting this data is quite hard. 20 yrs back industry hardly used the statistics; accept the process quality nowhere the statistics were used, but now it’s been used in many facets: finance, investment, insurance.
- So there could be some independent institute which can help startups, one could start something with statistics and one could help different companies?
– MIU SIGMA is a very successful startup. One of our students started it, now it’s a global power; they actually do the market analysis, they give consultancy to industries about where one should invest and all. Rights and wrongs are the only things that one should know and statistics tell you that. So if you want to do any kind of futuristic vision or idea then statistics is the only tool.
- What about the statistics for India? Education wise, as students are not that aware of it?
– That’s Media’s and Governments responsibility, there are many job vacancies but as people do not know they hire intelligent engineers and they teach statistics. So if the awareness was there they would have done it.
- We have many celebrities in sports, cinema and other fields but we have very few in academics. Should we have some academic celebrities in our country?
– I think two way- normally academicians are little shy, they don’t come out, they are comfortable with students. I think the media have to bring them out.
