According to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the central government will implement a new data governance framework

*Paromita Das
According to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, the Central government will implement a new data governance framework.

“As we increase the digitisation of government,” says Chandrasekhar, “we need to create a harmonised setup for the entire government for data management.”
“This will enable the government and its departments to better design and target the efficacy of public spending programmes, whether in infrastructure or service delivery.”
“There must be an overall approach to how laws are made; this framework lays out the architecture and institutionally defines the procedure for data collection, storage, access, and anonymization (with respect to the information contained within the government ecosystem,” he added.
The Modi administration has prepared a draught that includes guidelines for how government institutions analyze data within the context of a larger government ecosystem.

“The feedback on the previous policy called ‘India Data Accessibility and Use’ was that the name itself (was) being misunderstood; it almost seemed like it was a data sharing policy, which it was not,” Chandrasekhar said. We’ve now restructured the policy framework.”

“As outlined in sections 1 and 2 [of the new policy], it appears to be a broader policy for data governance, but the sections forward are similar to the policy draught shared in February.” “However, it is unclear how the two policies will interact,” said Apar Gupta, trustee of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF).
“The India Data Management Office (IDMO) will be responsible for developing rules, standards, and guidelines under the National Data Governance Framework, which will be published on a regular basis,” according to the policy.

“In consultation with ministries, state governments, and industry, IDMO shall develop all data/datasets/metadata rules, standards, and guidelines.” IDMO will hold at least two semi-annual consultations and report carding sessions for this purpose, with participation from state governments and industry,” it added.
“What you’re seeing today are the building blocks of the overall architecture for India’s tech economy over the next ten years,” Chandrasekhar said.

“The IDMO will be held accountable to ensure that the standards of anonymisation are set and that no de-anonymisation occurs,” he added.