We need technology and data for good governance, even Modi said so at Davos

By Arushi Sharma

In today’s vastly interconnected and fast-changing world, technology has a major role in shaping people’s thoughts, work cultures, political power, and economic strength of a nation. Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi referred to this technology-driven transformation in his speech at the opening session of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland. “Data is a real wealth and it is being said that whoever acquires and controls the data will have hegemony in the future,” he said.

Big Data and good governance

Technological advancement and the rise of the internet have led to the generation of huge volumes of data. As reported by The Economic Times, 90 percent of digital information worldwide has been created over the last two years. This goldmine of data can be harnessed to enable innovative and impactful solutions, especially in the developing world. It can be used to predict disease outbreaks, escalate disaster relief efforts, as well as provide a major fillip to public health systems, transport, and electricity access. Data-driven policymaking also allows a more rational public debate on sensitive topics.

More importantly, Big Data has the potential to revamp the entire public policy landscape by facilitating three things: evidence-based policy formulation, targeted implementation, and establishing accountability. The road to better governance is thus dotted with the check-posts of open government data and improved information access.

The problem of data quality in India

It is clear that efficient data collection and management should ideally be the two key ingredients of policymaking. However, India, as it stands today, does not come close to being an information-driven economy.  A large amount of critical data, when present, is unreliable and inconsistent.

The National Informatics Centre (NIC) curates and disseminates data from a wide range of government departments through the open data source data.gov.in. However, the underlying information provided by different ministries is marked by poor quality and outdated data sets. The mismatch between the numbers in different sources further highlights the problem of coordination within the silo-imitating departments. Erroneous agricultural and employment statistics have also come under the scanner in the past.

Information asymmetry is another big issue. The data furnished by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO)—which collects periodic socio-economic data—is inconsistent with that of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). Furthermore, service sector output data compiled by the CSO doesn’t follow the internationally accepted methodology, rendering comparisons impossible.

Overhauling the statistical ecosystem

The Indian government, through initiatives like the Aadhar programme and MCA 21 Mission Mode Project, has been applying data to provide citizen-friendly services and improve government efficiency. However, its role in planning, formulating, and implementing government programmes and policies has been greatly overlooked.

More recently, the NITI Aayog has been pushing for evidence-based policymaking in the country. Currently, 24% of the junior and senior statistical officer posts remain vacant in NSSO’s field operations division. Therefore, becoming better organised and information-driven first requires strengthening of data collection efforts. Next, data should be streamlined across levels of government, academia, and think tanks. There is also a need for broad-based participation in policymaking in order to ensure that the collected data is applied properly. This means information scrutiny and analysis by data scientists and sector experts, and consultations with grass-root organisations and advocacy groups.

In keeping with the theme of this year’s WEF—Creating a Shared Future in a Shared World—India can learn from other countries in developing the necessary guidelines. Countries like Finland, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, and the UK, have advisory and governing boards in place to coordinate between ministries and agencies. These bodies bridge the information gaps between the political authorities and the agencies’ public sector managers.

Featured image source: Kremlin