Category Archives: Science & Technology

GLOBAL: MEDICAL SERVICES / SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: India Emerging as Favourable Destination to Conduct Global Clinical Trials: Report by USA India Chamber of Commerce & PwC India

According to the report, the private sector is a well-suited channel for the top biopharma to conduct more efficient clinical trials with easier and faster access to investigators and patients.

India has the potential to increase global clinical trials in the country by five times in the coming years, a report has said, with experts highlighting the significant opportunities for biopharma companies to leverage India’s rich diversity and robust healthcare infrastructure to develop innovative treatments.

The joint report by the USA India Chamber of Commerce & PwC India titled, “Clinical Trial opportunities in India” which will be released at the virtual edition of the 17th annual BioPharma & Healthcare Summit 2023 to be held on Wednesday in Boston also indicates that through several key drivers, India is emerging as a favourable destination to conduct clinical trials.

According to the report, the private sector is a well-suited channel for the top biopharma to conduct more efficient clinical trials with easier and faster access to investigators and patients.

According to the report, India has the potential to increase global clinical trials in the country by five times in the coming years.

Indian states with high disease prevalence (e.g., cancer) also have the most number of tier-1 cities, with advanced medical infrastructure and availability of investigators. Targeting these states can provide biopharma companies with faster access to patients, sites, and investigators.

The total number of investigators has increased by twice between 2015 and 2020, with the majority of the increase occurring in the internal medicine and oncology specialisations. However, the growth in the number of investigators is largely restricted to tier-1 and 2 cities, the report said.

While the top 20 pharma activity for the major therapy classes in India has remained largely constant in the last decade, growth opportunities exist across key diseases (e.g., pain, epilepsy, cervical cancer) and orphan diseases (ß-thalassemia, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy), it said.

India has an overall clinical trial participation of three per cent but contributes upwards of 15 per cent to the global burden of most high prevalent diseases (e.g., respiratory infections, cardiovascular, diabetes, cervical cancer), representing an untapped potential for top pharma, the report said.

Top biopharma companies should align their strategy towards tier-1 cities (e.g., Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai) where the higher bed capacity, number of doctors, and presence of tertiary care multi-city hospitals can support enablement efforts of running faster and more efficient clinical trials, it said.

“This year, with India on track to become the world’s most populous country, our responsibility to ensure its people benefit from the innovations that improve human health has never been greater,” said Andrew Plump, President of R&D, Takeda and Chair, USAIC BioPharma & Healthcare Summit.

A critical part of this will be addressing the gap in clinical trial activity in India and identifying opportunities to collectively promote clinical research and help build infrastructure to support clinical trials in the country, he added.

Karun Rishi, president of USAIC, said that the growing interest in clinical trials in India presents a significant opportunity for biopharma companies to leverage the country’s rich diversity and robust healthcare infrastructure.

With a large and diverse patient pool, streamlined regulatory processes, and a highly skilled workforce, India offers a favourable environment for biopharma companies to conduct efficient and cost-effective clinical trials.

By tapping into this opportunity, companies can accelerate their drug development timelines, increase the efficiency of their research, and bring innovative treatments to patients in need, ultimately advancing global healthcare, he said.

“It is painful to see India’s share in the ongoing global clinical trials is less than 3.2 per cent. The global BioPharma companies need to do more to correct this situation from the science and ethical point of view,” Rishi said.

He said that with key data in hand, USAIC over the past year worked closely and engaged with the leadership of top BioPharma companies and CROs globally to brainstorm on this issue.

“Response from sponsors and CROs has been very encouraging. They are ready and want to do more in India. We see the potential to increase global trials in India by 5x in the coming years. This is India’s moment to capture this great opportunity. Three triggers which are under play in India’s favour are diversity, equity, access and inclusiveness in clinical trials; Russia-Ukraine conflict and China’s zero Covid policy,” Rishi said.

India, he said, has made good progress in streamlining the clinical trials regulatory processes.

“We encourage India to continue to focus on stable and transparent clinical trials regulations particularly involving clinical trial execution in India under International Council for Harmonisation (ICH) guidelines. India should enhance its clinical trial infrastructure including skills development and incentivize global BioPharma companies to conduct trials,” he said.

“Large-scale ethical clinical trials with high-quality data will lead to collaborations, investments, skill development, translational research, startups, employment generation of high paying jobs leading to GDP growth. Entire innovation ecosystem will be created in India and ultimately enhance Indian patients’ access to innovative medicines,” Rishi said.

Sujay Shetty, a partner and global health industries leader, at PwC, said that the clinical trial activity in India has been increasing steadily since 2014 due to several key regulatory reforms aimed towards global harmonisation, enabling open access to clinical trials in India.

The country’s diverse population, combined with its rapidly advancing healthcare infrastructure, provides a fertile ground for clinical trials to flourish.

This is an opportunity for top biopharma companies to develop a long-term strategy that focuses on the key enablers of innovation and strategic partnerships in India, he said.

Dr Naresh Trehan, CMD Medanta and USAIC advisory board member believes that India’s healthcare landscape is poised for transformation, with its vast and diverse population in need of innovative solutions to address a range of health challenges.

“The country’s potential for clinical trials presents a unique opportunity to leverage cutting-edge research and technology to drive meaningful improvements in patient outcomes and advance the frontiers of medical science.

By fostering a collaborative and dynamic ecosystem, India can lead the way in shaping the future of healthcare for the benefit of all,” he said.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE SERVICES / HERITAGE Rajnath Singh Inaugurates Country’s First Air Force Heritage Centre in Chandigarh

The heritage centre highlights the IAF’s role in various wars. It houses five vintage aircraft and will provide visitors with cockpit exposure and an experience with flight simulators.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Monday inaugurated the nation’s first Indian Air Force Heritage Centre in Chandigarh’s Sector 18.

Spread across 17,000 sqft at the Government Press Building, the heritage centre highlights the IAF’s role in various wars. It houses five vintage aircraft and will provide visitors with cockpit exposure and an experience with flight simulators. It also houses the first IAF-made patent aircraft Air Force ‘Kanpur-1 Vintage Prototype Aircraft’, a single-engine indigenous flying machine designed and built by the late Air Vice Marshal Harjinder Singh in 1958 at Base Repair Depot Kanpur.

Singh is accompanied by Chandigarh Union Territory (UT) Administrator Banwarilal Purohit, Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari, Member of Parliament (MP) Kirron Kher and other officers of the administration.

A souvenir shop equipped with the IAF’s memorial and scale models has been set up at the centre. A theme-based cafe will also be operational for the public.

The Defence Minister, who is on a one-day visit to Chandigarh, will inaugurate and lay the foundation stones for a few other projects in the city as well.

Subhead: What is in store for visitors at the Air Force Heritage Centre

A beautiful one-foot wall that has pictures of 58 vintage and retired aircraft will serve as a visual treat to visitors.

Gradually, this centre will also be updated about various rescue operations being undertaken by the IAF all over the country and at the world level. The initiatives undertaken by the Air Force Family Welfare Association for the benefit of the families of air warriors at the station, regional and central levels will also be shown through projectors.

A memorandum of understanding on the heritage centre was signed between the Chandigarh administration and the Indian Air Force in the presence of Banwarilal Purohit in June 2022.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / RESEARCH: Novel Diagnostic Test Developed for Global Pandemic in Frogs by Researchers of CSIR & CCMB in India and in collaboration with Researchers in Australia and Panama.

Researchers from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in collaboration with researchers in Australia and Panama have established a new test for successful diagnosis of Chytridiomycosis in amphibians.

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease in amphibians caused by two fungal pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). It has driven more than 90 amphibian species to extinction globally.

Due to the unprecedented loss of amphibian diversity it has caused, the disease is referred to as the driver of ‘amphibian apocalypse’ and its status is being closely monitored globally.

The researchers have developed and validated a new marker for the disease, and has been now published in the journal Transboundary and Emerging Disease.

The team consisting of Ph. D. Scholars, researchers and scientists from CCMB, Bangalore University, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park, Ashoka University in India; University of New SouthAAWales, James Cook University in Australia: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have tested the new marker on several amphibian species including frogs, toads, caecilians (limbless amphibians) and Salamanders (tailed amphibians).

The study reported 70 per cent amphibians with Chytridiomycosis infection; an almost 8 times higher prevalence than the previous reports from India.

Surveillance and monitoring must be in order to track infection in amphibian populations, especially in region where Bd fungus has become enzootic that is where the pathogen is restricted and does not cause death.”Our previous work on Bd fungus in India had shown that existing diagnostic assays are not sensitive. A universal, sensitive, specific, repeatable, and affordable diagnostic test is, thus, required to perform surveillance of Chytridiomycosis in an efficient manner. Our new diagnostic test works well in India, Australia and Panama. Its efficiency is comparable to the gold-standard test recommended for Chytridiomycosis in different parts of the world, and it might lead to new insights into the pathway transmission and infection,” said Dr Karthikeyan Vasudevan, the lead scientist from CCMB in the study.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE: India’s DRDO and Indian Navy Conducts Successful Trial of BMD Interceptor Missile. Enters Elite Club of Nations having Naval Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) Capability.

Country enters elite club of nations having Naval ballistic missile defence capability.

India has successfully conducted a maiden flight trial of a sea-based endo-atmospheric interceptor missile off the coast of Odisha.

The missile test was conducted by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy on Friday.

“The purpose of the trial was to engage and neutralise a hostile ballistic missile threat thereby elevating India into the elite club of nations having Naval BMD capability,” the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated DRDO, Indian Navy and industry involved in the successful demonstration of ship-based ballistic missile defence (BMD) capabilities.

source/content: tribuneindia.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: INT’L BUSINESS : Tim Cook launches Apple’s First India Store in Mumbai, April 18,2023

Likely to meet PM Modi tomorrow; open second store in Delhi.

Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook on Tuesday launched the iconic consumer technology company’s first retail store in India, welcoming customers into the facility inside a mall in suburban Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai. Hundreds of customers had queued up since last night to be among the first ones to shop or get a feel of the store.

The added attraction of the presence of company’s CEO had added to the buzz and the fact that India will have an Apple store before Malaysia but after Singapore and Thailand.

Despite having 3% market share, the buzz around the Apple store indicated the mind space it has come to occupy. The day began with Tim Cook and his senior vice-president for retail Deirdre O’Brien standing behind the closed glass front doors of the store as co-workers in green shirts began a countdown.

Despite having carved out a special niche for its products, Apple wasn’t taking any chances with its competitors. The 20,000-sq ft space at Jio Mall in BKC has been taken on lease for 11 years at a cost of Rs 42 lakh per month provided there are none of the 22 competing brands in the vicinity. These include Amazon, Facebook, Google LG, Microsoft and Sony.

Cook is expected to open the second store in the national capital at Saket to a similar frenzy on Thursday and call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first two customers, interviewed by the media, said they had been camping before the store since the previous night because of their love for Apple products. One had flown in from Rajasthan for the occasion and, undaunted after 15 hours spent in front of the Mumbai store, is planning to attend the opening of the Saket store as well. The first lot of customers took selfies with Cook and one of them got more time than the rest after he brought his Mac of 1984 vintage.

However, though there is local iPhone assembly, it still remains extremely expensive with hopes belied of a drop in prices. The base model iPhone 14 Pro costs $1,600 in India as against $999 in the US. Moreover, iPhone owners in India do not get several services such as News+, Fitness+, and Apple Pay.

source/content: tribuneindia.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: HEALTH, MEDICAL & WELLNESS SERVICES / MEDICAL TOURISM: Over 1.4 million Medical Tourists visited India in past one year, says Tourism Minister

Highlighting India’s efforts in promoting health and wellness tourism, the minister said the country remained one of the top destinations in this regard.

Over 1.4 million medical tourists visited India in the past one year, making it one of the top destinations for medical tourism, said Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik on Monday.

Highlighting India’s efforts in promoting health and wellness tourism, the minister said the country remained one of the top destinations in this regard.

Foreign tourists travelling to India for medical tourism saw a 66 percent rise in 2021, despite the Covid pandemic. In 2020, at the peak of the Covid outbreak when India was in lockdown and travel was restricted, 1.83 lakh tourists came for medical treatment. The number went up to 3.04 lakh in 2021, the Centre had informed Parliament in March.

Speaking at the second G20 Health Working Group Meeting in Goa, Naik called for a collaborative and sustainable global health strategy.

He also appealed to the delegates to engage in meaningful discussion on various aspects of the global health architecture.

Deleivering the keynote address, Union Minister of State for Health Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar emphasized India’s priorities and contributions to global health preparedness.

“India’s G20 priorities focus on reformed multilateralism that creates an accountable, inclusive, equitable and representative forum fit for addressing the many challenges in the 21st century,” she said.

She said India is striving to converge ongoing initiatives towards building resilient healthcare delivery systems supplemented with equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics to ensure that no one is left behind.

She noted that there is a need to leverage the momentum of ongoing discussions in the global health field and focus on critical aspects such as collaborative surveillance, community protection, access to medical countermeasures and emergency coordination. “We cannot be sure of when the next health emergency may hit us,” she said.

Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan underscored the need to invest in health systems substantially more than in the past through the “One Health” approach in order to reduce the drivers of pandemic risks.

He emphasised on continuing with the containment and control of Covid-19 by ensuring availability of vaccines and therapeutics.

He also highlighted that while all aspects of pandemic emergency preparedness and response are important, prevention is usually underfinanced relative to preparedness and response.

Towards this, he stated that India welcomes the proposal by the Pandemic Fund focusing on surveillance, lab systems and strengthening the public health workforce.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: Indigenous Chip for NavIC-based Satellite Navigation launched

The processor will give India a huge edge as both government and private sector can move away from their dependence on the American Global Positioning System, says founder of Elena Geo Systems.

In a step towards expanding usage of indigenous satellite-based Navigation, NavIC, a chip that can form the core of the Navigation, Positioning and Timing applications developed by Elena Geo Systems, a Bengaluru-based space technology company, was unveiled at the Defence Space Symposium on Thursday. The chip works using Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) or the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) satellites.

A chip was formally handed over by Lt. Col. V.S. Velan (retd.), founder and Chief Technology Officer of Elena Geo Systems, to Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan.

“We are thrilled to present India’s first fully designed and developed NavIC chip. The processor will give India a huge edge as both the government and private sector can move away from their dependence on the American Global Positioning System (GPS). Elena is in the process of patenting the technology and the product which has been developed by our dedicated R&D team,” Lt. Col. Velan said.

The chip has many cores that service the requirements of signal acquisition, regeneration, processing and the output interface and hence it is has been named as the NavIC processor, he stated. “We will be manufacturing 10,000 chips in the first batch,” he told The Hindu. He said they had demonstrated several of their products to the armed forces and were supplying 200 NavIC receivers to the Army through Bharat Electronics Limited.

High precision

The chips will enable high precision and accuracy for all the three types of applications such as navigation, positioning and timing, providing self-reliance, Lt. Col. Vasan said, adding that they have been pursuing advance technologies to manufacture these chips and modules; some of which have been supplied to the Indian Army and some private entities.

Elena Geo Systems was incubated at IIT-Kharagpur in 2012 and is now a member of the Delhi-based Indian Space Association (InSA) which organised the symposium in association with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Elena demonstrated its first processor in April 2019, which could receive and process signals of NavIC S-band, L5 band, GAGAN, GPS and Russian GLONASS. In the last two years, Elena successfully demonstrated its capability across devices and applications for reference stations, DSM map display system with IRNSS for the Army, map display system for patrol boats, marine NavIC receivers, intelligent vehicle tracking devices, NavIC drone navigation units and NavIC-based atomic clock, Lt. Col. Velan added.

source / content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL TRADE: NATIONAL: India’s Mobile Phone Export crosses USD 11 bn in FY23, Apple clocks 50 per cent share

With iPhone maker Apple accounting for around half of the total mobile phone exports, handset exports from India reached close to $11.12 billion, according to industry body ICEA.

With iPhone maker Apple accounting for around half of the total mobile phone exports, handset exports from India reached close to $11.12 billion, according to industry body ICEA.

The India Cellular and Electronics Association (ICEA) said mobile phone export from the country has doubled to surpass Rs 90,000 crore, about $11.12 billion (91,000 crore) in the financial year 2022-23 (FY23) from Rs 45,000 crore in FY22. The government has set a target of $10 billion worth of mobile phone exports from the country.

ICEA Chairman Pankaj Mohindroo said, “No economy or sector in the economy can become a great and vibrant global economy without large exports. Riding on the 100% growth in mobile phone exports, which have crossed Rs 90,000 crore for FY 23, electronics exports have also grown by 58% to Rs 1,85,000 crore. It is satisfying that we have crossed the targeted figure of Rs 75,000 crore for the year.”

According to a PTI report, citing industry sources, Apple is estimated to have clocked 50% share with export of ‘made in India’ iPhones worth $5.5 billion, about Rs 45,000 crore while Samsung accounts for about 40% share with export worth Rs 36,000 crore. 

“With the doubling of exports of smartphones to more than $11 billion, India is well on its way to become a leader in the mobile device market of the world and play a major role in India’s electronic exports. This is a major win for PM Modijis Make in India program,” said telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on record smartphone exports from India.

The government has set the target of achieving $300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing by 2025-26, with $120 billion expected to come from exports. Mobile phones are expected to contribute more than $50 billion worth of exports by 2025-26. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPACE /SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: 11 Teams to Represent India at the ‘NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2023’ in the U.S this month.

At the NASA Rover Challenge 2023 these teams will compete against 61 others selected worldwide for the 3-day contest to be held from April 20-22.

11 Indian teams including three high school groups will participate in the prestigious ‘NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge’ (HERC) 2023 in the  United States this month. These teams are among 61 others worldwide that will represent India at the international level and will travel to the American agency’s space & rocket centre in Huntsville, Alabama, US to take part in the three day competition from April 20-22.

The HERC Challenge demands teams to design, develop, build, and test human-powered rovers capable of traversing challenging terrain and a task tool for completion of various mission tasks, NASA explained, giving an overview about the competition.

The list of Indian teams participating this year:

Amity University, Noida, Uttar PradeshCollege/University
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Pilani, RajasthanCollege/University
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, Tamil NaduCollege/University
KIET Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad, Uttar PradeshCollege/University
Prayatna Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad, GujaratHigh School
Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, PunjabCollege/University
Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar PradeshCollege/University
Tec Mantra Labs, Kurukshetra, HaryanaHigh School
Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil NaduCollege/University
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil NaduCollege/University
Young Tinker Educational Foundation, Bhubaneswar, OdishaHigh School

Of these, VIT, Vellore, Chennai, HITS, Chennai, BITS Pilani, Rajasthan and Amity Noida, KIET Group of Institutions, Uttar Pradesh featured in the 2022 challenge as well.

Releasing a list of selected teams in October last year(full list here), NASA announced that these teams would be judged based on their ability to design and assemble a rover to traverse a course of approximately half-mile that includes 10 obstacles and 5 tasks with a simulated field of asteroid debris, boulders, erosion ruts, crevasses, and an ancient streambed. “As part of the competition, rover entries are tested to ensure they would fit into a lander storage area, a maximum 5 feet long by 5 feet tall by 5 feet in volume,” NASA said.

The weight and time criteria encourages teams to build their vehicles around its compactness, light weight, high performance, and efficiency. Teams must make real-time decisions on mission objectives – what to attempt or leave behind, driven by limited virtual oxygen supply lasting 8 minutes. The teams earn points on successful completion of these tasks and the one with the highest number of points throughout the project wins the game in each category (high school/college and universities).

Even though Indian teams did not win the overall prize in either category last year, the students are hopeful for international recognition with larger participation this year.

Akanksha Das, a member of one of the participating teams, Young Tinker Educational Foundation, expressing her enthusiasm about the contest, told news agency ANI, “…We sent a proposal to Nasa and they accepted our proposal and we followed all the guidelines. We created a lightweight Rover. In the last edition we got world rank 3, this year we hope to bring 1st position in world rank.”

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL AWARD : STATISTICS : Indian-American Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao (C.R. Rao) Wins Top Statistics Award, the ‘ 2023 International Prize in Statistics ‘ – a look back at his pioneering work

Indian-American statistician Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao has been awarded statistics’ equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

The Indian-American statistician Calyampudi Radhakrishna Rao has been awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics, which is statistics’ equivalent of the Nobel Prize. It was established in 2016 and is awarded once every two years to an individual or team “for major achievements using statistics to advance science, technology and human welfare.”

Prof. Rao, who is now 102 years old, is a ‘living legend’ whose work has influenced, in the words of the American Statistical Association, “not just statistics” but also “economics, genetics, anthropology, geology, national planning, demography, biometry, and medicine”. The citation for his new award reads: “C.R. Rao, a professor whose work more than 75 years ago continues to exert a profound influence on science, has been awarded the 2023 International Prize in Statistics.”

What was Rao’s 1945 paper about?

Rao’s groundbreaking paper, ‘Information and accuracy attainable in the estimation of statistical parameters’, was published in 1945 in the Bulletin of the Calcutta Mathematical Society, a journal that is otherwise not well known to the statistics community. The paper was subsequently included in the book Breakthroughs in Statistics, 1890-1990.

This was an impressive achievement given Rao was only 25 at the time and had just completed his master’s degree in statistics two years prior.

He would go on to do his PhD in 1946-1948 at King’s College, Cambridge University, under the supervision of Ronald A. Fisher , widely regarded as the father of modern statistics.

The Cramér-Rao inequality is the first of the three results of the 1945 paper. When we are estimating the unknown value of a parameter, we must be aware of the estimator’s margin of error. Rao’s work provided a lower limit on the variance of an unbiased estimate for a finite sample. The result has since become a cornerstone of mathematical statistics; researchers have extended it in many different ways, with applications even in quantum physics, signal processing, spectroscopy, radar systems, multiple-image radiography, risk analysis, and probability theory, among other fields.

In an article published in the journal Statistical Science in 1987, the American statistician Morris H. DeGroot set out an intriguing story (corroborated by Rao’s own account) of how Rao arrived at the lower limit. Prof. Fisher had already established an asymptotic (i.e. when the sample size is very large) version of the inequality, and it seems a student had asked Rao, “Why don’t you prove it for finite samples?” in 1944. A then-24-year-old Rao did so in under 24 hours!

The second outcome of the 1945 paper was the Rao-Blackwell Theorem, which offers a method to improve an estimate to an optimal estimate. The Rao-Blackwell theorem and the Cramér-Rao inequality are both related to the quality of estimators.

A new interdisciplinary area called ‘information geometry’ was born as a result of the paper’s third finding. This field integrated principles from differential geometry into statistics, including the concepts of metric, distance, and measure. Erich L. Lehmann, a renowned statistician, said in 2008 that “this work [of Rao’s] was before its time and came into its own only in the 1980s”.

So overall, Rao’s 1945 paper made an outstanding contribution, boosting the development of modern statistics and its widespread application in modern research. In a 2008 book, Reminiscences of a Statistician: The Company I Kept, Lehmann also discussed the generative nature of the paper – i.e. the goldmine of insights that it was – and acknowledged that “several of my early papers grew out of Rao’s paper of 1945”.

How did Rao enter the field of statistics?

The Australian statistician Terry Speed claimed that the “1940s were ungrudgingly C.R. Rao’s. His 1945 paper … will guarantee that, even had he done nothing else – but there was much else.”

Indeed, one of Rao’s papers in 1948 offered a novel generic approach to testing hypotheses, now widely known as the “Rao score test”. In fact, the three test procedures – the likelihood ratio test of Jerzy Neyman and E.S. Pearson (1928), the Wald test (1943) of Abraham Wald, and the Rao score test (1948) – are sometimes called “the holy trinity” of this branch of statistics.

Rao also contributed to orthogonal arrays, a concept in combinatorics that is used to design experiments whose results are qualitatively good, as early as 1949. A 1969 Forbes article described it as “a new mantra” in industrial establishments.

Given the magnitude and relevance of his contributions, it might seem surprising that Rao entered the field of statistics by chance.

Despite scoring first in mathematics at Andhra University, a 19-year-old Rao didn’t secure a scholarship there for administrative reasons. He was also rejected for a mathematician’s job at an army survey unit because he was judged to be too young.

When he was staying at a hotel in Calcutta, he met a man who was employed in Bombay and had been sent to Calcutta to be trained at the Indian Statistical Institute. He asked Rao to apply to the institute as well. Rao did so, for a year-long training programme in statistics, hoping the additional qualification would help him land a job.

P.C. Mahalanobis, then director of the institute, replied promptly and Rao was enrolled. That marked the beginning of a four-decade-long stay at the institute. Rao retired in 1979 and afterwards settled in the U.S.

The first half of the 20th century was the golden period of statistical theory in general, and Rao is undoubtedly one of the reasons for this being the case, thanks to his mathematical ingenuity. In the words of the late mathematician Samuel Karlin, Rao’s contributions to statistical theory have “earned him a place in the history of statistics”.

Indian statisticians also owe Prof. Rao gratitude for his enormous contributions to the growth of statistics in the country, notably at the Indian Statistical Institute (where this author works). As Lehmann wrote, Rao was “the person who did the most to continue Mahalanobis’s work as a leader of statistics in India.”

Atanu Biswas is professor of statistics, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)