About Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics:
- It is the premier organization of Government of India for collection, compilation and dissemination of India’s trade statistics and commercial information.
- History
- The Organization traces its origin to a statistical branch established in the Finance Department of the Government of India way back in 1862.
- Sir William W. Hunter was the first DG of the DGCI & S or the Director General of Statistics as he was designated, back in 1871.
- Functions
- It is entrusted with the work of collecting, compiling and publishing/disseminating trade statistics and various types of commercial information required by the policy makers, researchers, importers, exporters, traders as well as overseas buyers.
- It is the first large scale data processing organization functioning as a nodal agency for Export & Import data in the country.
- It also compiles and publishes the inland Trade Statistics covering inter-state movements of goods by rail, river and air on yearly basis.
- It is headed by the Director General, an Additional Secretary level officer of Indian Statistical Services (ISS).
- Nodal Ministry: It works under the Ministry of Commerce.
- Headquarter: Kolkata.
Q1: What are statistics?
It is the science of collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data. Governmental needs for census data as well as information about a variety of economic activities provided much of the early impetus for the field of statistics.
News: Government to reexamine ‘unusual’ gold import surge amid indications of double-counting
Last updated on August, 2026
→ UPSC Mains 2026 will be conducted on 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 29th and 30th August 2026.
→ Check out the latest UPSC Syllabus 2026 here.
→ UPSC Mains Admit Card 2026 is expected to be released soon at upsc.gov.in or upsconline.nic.in
→ Enroll in Vajiram & Ravi’s UPSC Mains Test Series 2027 for structured answer writing practice, expert evaluation, and exam-oriented feedback.
→ Join Vajiram & Ravi’s UPSC Mentorship Program 2027 for personalized guidance, strategy planning, and one-to-one support from experienced mentors.
→ Go through the UPSC Mains Previous Year Papers to enhance your preparation.
→ Download UPSC Mains Essay Paper 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-I 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-II 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-III 2025, UPSC Mains GS Paper-IV 2025, UPSC Mains English (Compulsory) Paper 2025, UPSC Mains Hindi (Qualifying) Paper 2025 here.
→ UPSC has released UPSC Toppers List 2025 with the Civil Services final result on its official website.
→ UPSC Calendar 2027 has been released.
→ Also check Best UPSC Coaching in India







