The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has recently released a policy proposal titled “Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy, 2022.” Mainly commercial in orientation, this policy aims to revolutionize India’s capacity to utilize public sector data. Previously, a government committee led by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan recommended that non-personal data produced in India should be available for exploitation by local companies and entities.
Why the Data Accessibility Policy Proposal is Needed
With citizen data predicted to increase exponentially over the next decade, it is expected to become a crucial part of India’s USD 5 trillion-dollar digital economy. The National Economic Survey, 2019 highlighted the commercial benefits of exploiting Government data. It suggested that the private sector could be permitted access to select databases for business purposes.
However, various issues impede data sharing and use. There is no policy monitoring and enforcement body and technical tools and standards for data sharing as well as frameworks for identifying high-value datasets and licensing and valuing them are not currently available. This policy provides a path to unlock the high value of data across the economy, solid governance strategy, interoperable Government data, and promoting data skills and culture.
Main Proposals of the Draft Data Accessibility Policy
The policy proposes the creation of the India Data Office (IDO) to manage and unify data access and sharing among the government and other stakeholders. The IDO will determine frameworks for high-value data sets, finalize data standards and metadata standards, and monitor policy implementation. Every ministry or department will establish Data Management Units, headed by Chief Data Officers, to ensure policy implementation.
The policy will cover all data generated, created, collected, or stored by the central government and authorized agencies. State governments may also adopt these measures. All government data will be open and shareable, with exception to data listed as non-sharable, which will only be available to trusted users under controlled conditions.
Challenges with the Draft Data Accessibility Policy
The current policy draft faces several issues:
Privacy Concerns
India currently lacks a data protection law that can provide accountability for privacy violations such as coercive data collection or data breaches. The sharing of data between departments incites concerns surrounding privacy, as it might enable state-led mass surveillance by creating comprehensive profiles from departmental data.
Transparency Issues
Despite advocating for open data, the draft deviates from the core principle of providing governmental transparency. It fails to detail how data sharing will aid in ensuring accountability and redress demands.
Perverse Revenue Objective and Federalism
The policy bypasses parliamentary deliberation as it plans for large-scale data sharing funded by public funds. Additionally, the policy does not provide clarity on how State governments’ freedom to adopt parts of the policy will be attained, nor how proceeds from data sold by the Central government will be shared with the States.
Lack of Clarity on Key Definitions
The policy introduces new concepts like ‘High-Value Datasets’, crucial for governance and innovation, without clear definitions, leading to potential misinterpretations.
