On Monday, this week, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) came up with the idea of an India Data Office (IDO). IDO will be a data repository. MeitY would want all Central and State Government bodies to share data to IDO compulsorily and private institutions voluntarily.
The ‘India Data Accessibility and Usage’ draft policy is now open for public consultations and will be available till March 18. The draft policy is more or less an update from the current policy — National Data Security and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) and the Open Government Data Platform (OGD) of India.
The IDO will create a common searchable database for Government institutions and other stakeholders. The shared pool of data will also benefit Startups and Enterprises. According to the draft policy document, it aims at enhancing the access, quality, and use of data, keeping in mind the role of data in times of emerging technologies of the present and future.
Each Ministry would have a Cheif Data Officer to manage data. And then, the data generated from various Central and State government departments, private enterprises, researchers, and entrepreneurs will be available for all safely through Data licensing.
The draft envisages an Indian Data Council with Indian Data Officers and Chief Data Officers of State and Central government departments to undertake tasks requiring deliberations from Ministries and Departments of the Government.
However, the idea to deposit Government data into a common database has raised concerns about the privacy and monetization of Citizens’ data. Many experts cite that India needs to have an adequate data protection law before a step like this.
The personal data protection clauses under Information Technology Act, 2000 say how private companies can use personal data. However, they don’t say on personal data usage by the Government. In addition, the monetization of data mentioned in the draft policy is causing worry.
A shared data pool can be a powerful tool in policy and decision-making. Nevertheless, it needs robust data protection mechanisms and laws to ensure individual privacy.