New Delhi: The public consultation for Draft National Data Governance Framework is in full swing. In a recent such consultation meet, held in New Delhi in which more than 250 stakeholders from the IT industry, startups, academia, think tanks, international alliances and government officials from various ministries participated, plethora of suggestions were made. This includes provisions for harnessing the future potential of integrated datasets and clarifications around the nature of engagement with private players. Furthermore, information and clarity on the operations of the India Data Management Office, access to annotated datasets for AI innovation and active collaboration with private sector and social impact firms to build data capacity were also suggested.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State, Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India was present in this meet. He highlighted the rapid digitalization of the government and Nagriks, within India, and the subsequent rise in data volumes necessitating a framework for harnessing the potential of this data. He stated that the Narendra Modi Government’s vision is to build a modern framework for Data Governance that will be kinetic enabler of India’s Digital Economy.
The Minister of State also highlighted the importance of private stakeholders in participating in the overall data ecosystem and emphasized the government’s focus on ensuring a collaborative and participative approach towards this policy and its implementation.
Government claims that the draft policy and the foundation upon which it is built will focus on improving the institutional framework for government data sharing, promoting principles around privacy and security by design, encouraging the use of anonymization tools and ensuring equitable access to non-personal data for both the public and private sector.
