New Delhi: The Union government on Monday introduced the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Bill, 2026 in the Lok Sabha, proposing to repeal the 67-year-old Indian Statistical Institute Act, 1959 and replace the premier institution’s society-based governance structure with a statutory framework centred on a government-accountable Board of Governors (BoG), a move that would fundamentally alter how the institute is governed, how its director is appointed and how key academic decisions—from admissions and curriculum to new courses and collaborations—are taken