While oil was the central resource around which the world revolved in the twentieth century, the battle ground has shifted in recent times. Data is the oil of the digital era. A recently released documentary on Netflix, The Great Hack, based on the Cambridge Analytica scandal claims that data has become more valuable than oil as of last year. Even though the documentary focuses on the perils of personal data in the hands of a few corporates, there is a case to be made for how the right data in right hands can act as a powerful development tool.
India, for instance, has set an ambitious goal for itself ofbecoming a $5 trillion economy by 2024. A lot has been discussed and debated onthe development target and its feasibility, but it cannot be denied that thegoal is a worthy one to pursue and would require a focused approach by thegovernment on key growth areas to obtain the desired results. Achieving optimalreturns with limited resources in a short time frame will be a challenging ask.Data will play a key role in adopting a focused approach in this case.
The infrastructure of the national data system in India willbe put to a test during these years. They are the mortar on which thescaffolding of the Indian economy will rest. Data needs to play a larger andlarger role in the daily decision-making process of the government as it willmake governance more informed and localized. Michael Lewis exemplified in hishighly acclaimed book, Moneyball, on how the general manager of Oakland Athletics,Billy Beane, managed to build a better baseball team with less money usingstatistics and data analytics. His evidence-based approach allowed him toallocate resources judiciously and immediately brought the team at par withmore well-endowed clubs.
Today, baseball teams have moved on from signing playersbased on gut instinct to using data analytics to inform its key decisions.Likewise, the Indian economy needs to adopt such an evidence-baseddecision-making approach. It will allow governments to gain a more holisticview of its citizens and help them better respond to the dynamically changingneeds of the public. Since good governance is all about delivery, data shouldbe the conduit on which it is based. Data-driven policy making also has the benefitof driving a more informed and rational public debate across the country.
On a promising note, data is already proving effective ingenerating societal returns across India. The relocation of people in Odishabefore cyclones that could potentially kill thousands is one such example.Another major indication of data usage transforming into good governance camefrom the electoral results of the recent general elections. The BJP governmentin its first term had identified 115 districts as “aspirational” usinga set of socio-economic indicators, which were quite simply the mostunderdeveloped regions in India. The poorest households in these districts weredirectly targeted with various social welfare schemes. In a recognition of thegovernment efforts, the voters elected the BJP into power in over 60 per centof the “aspirational” districts. Thus, data-based policy makingevidently has a substantial impact on the people.
The Indian government has recognized the relevance of datain policymaking and put in place mechanisms that will deliver better quality ofpublic data on development parameters. The Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs has launched the DataSmart Cities to leverage data that can provideactionable intelligence on city governance. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (CleanIndia Mission) has been supplemented with a data-based initiative, the SwachhSurvekshan (Cleanliness Survey) to access the performance of Indian regions oncleanliness and instill among them a competitive spirit.
Such steps towards data-based governance are in the right direction but need to be heavily ramped up to achieve the $5 trillion target. A large volume of data is still not available in digital format, which needs to be addressed. A lot of government departments are also reluctant or slow in sharing data. This trend needs to change and periodicity of data needs to be maintained to ensure timely and effective decision-making. Moreover, even when data is collected and published regularly, many government departments collect and collate them in silos using different formats and technology. This impedes its effective and efficient usage. In times when data is becoming the most prized commodity, building a robust mechanism of its collection, publication and usage for policy decisions can give India a significant developmental push. However, it must also be noted that a critical dimension of data usage is the protection of personal information of citizens. It is a powerful tool that can transform lives but comes with privacy risks. A responsible usage of data analytics in governance is the need of the hour. IANS