The government has released a draft data policy this week, ‘India Data Accessibility and Use Policy’, for feedback and inputs from the public.
The government intends to make the policy draft available for public comment, soliciting inputs from all sectors, including research, academia, statistics and industry, on how the policy may help institutionalise a data-sharing framework for the next decade.
The last date of submission of feedback is March 18.
According to MyGov and the Ministry of Electronics and IT, the policy proposes to improve data availability, quality and use in line with the decade’s current and emerging technology demands.
Considering the rapid increase in digitisation and online engagement, the policy draft noted that “India’s ambition of becoming a $5-trillion digital economy depends on its ability to harness the value of data”.
The draft stated: “Any data sharing shall happen within the legal framework of India, its national policies and legislation as well as the recognized international guidelines.”
IT ministry noted in the draft that a few key factors will enable such a powerful data-sharing environment. These include maximising access to and use of quality public sector data, improving policymaking, as well as evaluation and monitoring, protecting citizens’ privacy, promoting transparency and accountability, as well as improving overall compliance to data sharing policies and standards.
Inside The Policy Draft
The document proposes the establishment of an India Data Office (IDO) to streamline and unify data access and sharing among government and other stakeholders. In case of the institutional framework, the draft noted that every ministry or department should have Data Management Units, headed by Chief Data Officers, which will work closely with the IDO to ensure the implementation of this policy.
“India Data Council—comprising IDO and chief data officers — shall be constituted with the objective of undertaking tasks that require deliberation across ministries, departments and state governments,” the draft stated.
This council will define frameworks for high-value data sets, finalise data standards and metadata standards and review policy implementation, among others.
Additionally, the draft noted that all data and information generated, created, collected, or stored by the central government and authorised agencies shall be covered by the policy. The measures can also be adopted by state governments.
The envisioned policy outcomes include unlocking high-value data across the economy, facilitating a congruent and robust governance strategy, realising an interoperable digital infrastructure and data skills and data-driven culture.
In terms of the private sector, the draft document stated that it “relies on high-value public data repositories in sectors such as health, geo-spatial mapping, and energy to successfully inject innovation and propel a data-driven economy”.
“A future-forward data policy framework should accordingly engage with data from multiple sources (public and private) to make accessible through government-to-government (G2G), government-to-business (G2B), business-to-government (G2B) and business-to-business (B2B) channels,” the document noted.
According to the document released by the IT ministry, such a framework will not only enable more informed policymaking and efficient public services, but will also enable a new generation of start-ups to boost digital innovation for high-priority use cases and enter new markets, driving growth in the Indian economy.
However, the draft document noted that all government data will be open and shareable unless it falls under a negative list of data sets, categorised under the negative list of datasets that won’t be shared; and restricted access and shared only with trusted users, as defined by the respective ministry or department, under the controlled environment.
The draft noted: “Minimally processed data sets shall be made freely available. Only detailed data sets that have undergone value addition, transformation and qualify for monetisation may be priced appropriately.”
All ministers or departments will receive a data-sharing toolkit to help assess and manage risk associated with data sharing and publication. The framework will assist data officers in determining whether a data set qualifies for release, restricted sharing, or must be placed on the negative list, as well as the proper release channel and degree of anonymity required.
“Data shall remain the property of the agency/ department/ ministry/ entity which generated/collected it. Access to data under this policy shall not be in violation of any acts and rules of the government of India in force. The legal framework of this policy shall be aligned with various acts and rules covering the data,” the document added.
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