Revised ISI Bill 2025: MoSPI seeks fresh feedback amid concerns over autonomy, accessibility

The ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI) has revised the draft ISI Bill 2025 and invited further suggestions from the public as part of the pre-legislative consultation process. Meanwhile, students, researchers, and faculty members continue to oppose the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill which they claim could dilute the institute’s autonomy and accessibility.

The revised draft ISI Bill was updated on the ministry’s website on November 28 after reviewing the recommendations received for the previous version published on September 25.

The ministry said that the proposed bill aims to upgrade the Indian Statistical Institute from a registered society to a statutory body corporate, bringing its governance structure in line with the Institutions of National Importance (INIs), such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

The ministry invited public comments on the first draft till November 3, after which some changes were introduced based on the feedback received. The revised ISI Bill 2025 is now available on the ministry’s official portal, mospi.gov.in, and comments may be sent by December 15.

ISI students, faculty oppose draft bill

The revised draft ISI Bill comes amid the ongoing opposition from students, research scholars, and faculty, who have raised concerns about certain rules in the draft bill that may undermine ISI’s autonomy, and affect accessibility and research environment.

They argued that the bill may dilute ISI’s academic independence and its long-standing model as a premier research institution. Students, teachers, staff, and former directors of ISI signed a mass petition seeking withdrawal of the draft regulations in its current form and sent it to the ministry. However, the ministry has not responded publicly to these concerns yet.