He got so interested that he bought a complete set of Biometrika volumes towards his journey back to India. Mahalanobis set up the Statistical Laboratory in the Presidency College sometime in the 1920s. His contribution to statistics is enormous. During the 1920s and until the mid1930s, all or nearly all the statistical work done in India, was done single-handedly by Mahalanobis.
The early statistical studies included analyses of data on stature of Anglo-Indians, meteorological data, rainfall data, data on soil conditions, etc. Some of the findings of these early studies were of great impact in the control of floods, development of agriculture, etc., and led to the recognition of Statistics as a key discipline.