New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS): Congress on Wednesday condoled the demise of C.R. Rao, one of the greatest statisticians, saying he was pillar of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) for over 40 years inspiring generations of students and researchers.

Taking to microblogging platform X, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh said: "CR Rao, one of the greatest mathematical statisticians of the 20th century, has just passed away at the age of 102. He was active till the very end. He was a pillar of the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) for over 40 years inspiring generations of students and researchers who themselves became iconic figures like S.R. Srinivasa Vardhan and K.R. Parthasarathy."

"He had won every conceivable award and honour. The last four decades of his life were spent in the USA where President George Bush had conferred that country's highest scientific honour on him in 2002. A truly legendary scholar," Ramesh, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, wrote on X.

The Congress leader made the remarks Rao passed away in the US on Wednesday. He was 102.

Padma Vibhushan awardee Rao, who completed his Masters from Andhra University, went on to win the International Prize in Statistics (2023), which is considered equivalent to the Nobel Prize.