– Mita Mukherjee

The council body of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Kolkata, its highest decision-making body, on Tuesday appointed ISI’s mathematics professor Amartya Kumar Dutta as the full-term director of the institute. Dutta took charge on Wednesday.

The institute had been functioning under officiating director for the past six months after the tenure of the previous full-term director, Sanghmitra Bandyopadhyay ended in September 2025.

The process of appointment of teachers and non-teaching staff at the institute had been kept on hold for a long time and faculty members of the ISI had been demanding the appointment of full- term director to start the process of filling up the vacant posts.

Dutta was selected by a three-member search committee appointed by the ISI council. The selection panel set in September had unanimously recommended Dutta for the post of director for a full-term of five years or until superannuation, whichever is earlier. Dutta is 60 and the retirement for ISI professors is 65.

The institute, known for its academic excellence had been at the centre of controversy for the past several months following the Centre’s move to overhaul the ISI Act 1959 with an alleged attempt to  curb the autonomy of its governing body.

Dutta had expressed his support for the ISI Act of 1959 while addressing at the institute’s foundation day programme in December.

“The institute is now passing through a very crucial period with the Centre almost determined to repeal the Act of 1959 which empowers the institute to enjoy a lot freedom in governing the institute which has helped it to grow as one of the finest institutions in the country and also internationally. We are happy that the institute has a got a full-term director after several months. The new director took charge today,” a member of the ISI council told EducationWorld. He, however, said Dutta, being a faculty member of the institute is aware about the present situation prevailing on the campus and he was hopeful that Dutta will be able to take appropriate steps to take the institute forward in the right direction.

But he said that all the 33 members of the council have not been informed about the appointment. “The appointment has been given on the basis if unilateral decision. We do not support this,” the council member said.

Institute teachers and academics across the country had been demanding withdrawal of the ISI draft bill as it proposes to “revamp” the ISI’s existing structure of governance and also curb its academic autonomy by establishing more government control over its governing board and to have more say in important decisions of the institute such as in matters like determining fee structure of the institute.

Founded in 1931 by statistician Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Kolkata, the ISI is a research and teaching institute with branches in Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Tezpur. It is known for its pioneering works in statistics, advancing planning, economics and computer science.

The institute has witnessed continuous agitations and protests for past several weeks against the proposed Bill drafted by the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation.

Also read: Increasing number of students staying back in India calls for education rethink: Sushma Bharath