Was Indian-American statistician C. Radhakrishna Rao awarded Nobel Prize in Statistics? Fact Check

Claim: Indian-American statistician C. Radhakrishna Rao at the age of 102, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Statistics.

Conclusion: The claim is misleading. C. Radhakrishna Rao did not receive a Nobel Prize because there is no Nobel Prize in Statistics. However, he was awarded the International Prize in Statistics in 2023, which is considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize and the highest honor in the field.

Rating: Misrepresentation —

Several social media users have claimed that Indian-American statistician C. Radhakrishna Rao at the age of 102, was awarded the “Nobel Prize in Statistics”. Facebook user ‘Jayadeba Sahoo’ made such a claim about the age irrelevance to Nobel Prize, writing: “At the age of 102, receiving a Nobel while in good physical condition, it is probably the first example.” View the post below:

Other users have also shared the same claim which can be seen here and here.

FACT CHECK

DigitEYE India decided to investigate this claim and found that it is misleading. The Nobel Prizes are not awarded in statistics. The Nobel Prizes are given in six categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences. C. Radhakrishna Rao at the age of 102, was awarded the International Prize in Statistics in 2023.

We first conducted a web search with the phrase “C. Radhakrishna Rao wins Nobel Prize in Statistics” to learn about the matter. We came across several reports, like one published by the Times Of India on Apr 12, 2023 which says “Because of his significant contributions to the field of statistics, he will receive the International prize in Statistics for the year 2023. This prize is considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize”.

 View a section of the report below – 

Following this, we learned about the different categories of the Nobel Prize. The Nobel Foundation does not award prizes in statistics; its categories are limited to Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences.

View a screenshot of the different prize categories on the official Nobel Prize website: 

The International Prize in Statistics was established in 2016 and is awarded every two years. The 2023 International Prize in Statistics was awarded to C. Radhakrishna Rao which is well documented on the official International Prize in Statistics website. View a screenshot of the page below:

Thus, the claim is misrepresentation.  

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