In a democracy, data is crucial for accountability, and India has extensive knowledge and a long history in this area, said NITI Aayog vice chairman Suman K Bery. While speaking at the launch of NITI Aayog's National Data & Analytics Platform (NDAP), he said that the platform aims to democratise access to government data by making data accessible, interoperable, and interactive for the public use.
“India has considerable expertise and rich history in data. But it is also the case that the struggle for transparency, including the national sample survey, has been a long journey,” said Bery.
The platform hosts foundational datasets from various government agencies presents them coherently and provides tools for analytics and visualisation. In August 2021, Aayog had provided access to the platform to a limited number of users for testing and feedback.
According to NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, the rise of data and digital technologies is rapidly transforming economies and societies, with enormous implications for governments' daily operations.
“NDAP is a critical milestone – which aims to aid India's progress by promoting data-driven disclosure, decision-making and ensuring availability of data connecting till the last mile – is an example of how the power of data can be leveraged,” said Kant.
Currently, NDAP hosts 203 datasets which have been chosen on the basis of use cases and expert advice. They are interoperable with each other and are easy to download and use.
