HYDERABAD, Jan 29: University of Sindh vice-chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui has said that in the era of globalisation one cannot ignore adoption of international standards in statistics system.

He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Data produced by statistics and data warehouse department’ jointly organised by the Department of Statistics and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), on Monday. The seminar was largely attended by the teachers and students besides research scholars from the departments of statistics, economics, commerce and other departments.

Mr Siddiqui said that the official statistics provide an indispensable element to democratic society, government and the public with data about economics, demographic, social and environmental issues.

Mr Siddiqui said that an equal access to statistical information was an important aspect of the citizen’s rights in a functioning democratic system. He added that in order to achieve quality and efficiency, international statistical standards and their concepts needed to be followed locally.

Also Dr Azizullah Khattak, director of the statistics and data warehouse department of SBP said that the data produced by the department always help research scholars in the field of economics and finance. He added that scholars should analyse the data and come up with proposals for further improvement.

Mr Khattak said that the SBP had been collecting data electronically and double checking it with software and logic before releasing.

Dr Ishaque Ahmed Ansari, joint director of the statistics and data warehouse department of SBP said that such seminars would help in development of coordination among the masses and create awareness about data produced by the bank.

Dr Raja M. Ilyas Rajput, director of the department of statistics, University of Sindh, said that the main purpose of the seminar was to provide knowledge and awareness to academia, researchers and students. He added that timely availability of reliable and accurate data was one of the most important pre-requisites for planning, research and decision-making process at individual and institutional level.

The dean faculty of natural sciences of the university, Professor Dr Mohammad Yar Khawar and other scholars also expressed their views.