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National Data Governance Framework Policy for Non-Personal Data (NPD)

Context:

  • Digitisation is pivotal for India’s aim to become a $5 trillion economy, with data and AI potentially contributing up to $500 billion to GDP by 2025, according to NASSCOM.
  • The government’s digitisation efforts are yielding large volumes of citizen data, split into Personal Data and Non-Personal Data (NPD), with the latter having the potential to serve as a public good.

Importance of Non-Personal Data (NPD)

  • NPD is the primary type of government-held citizen data.
  • NPD has the potential to be a valuable “public good”.
  • NPD integration can improve public service delivery.
  • AI and advanced analytics can generate valuable insights from NPD in various sectors (e.g., weather forecasting, and infrastructure planning).

Challenges of National Data Governance Framework Policy

Lack of NPD Regulation

  • Unlike Personal Data, NPD has no strong legal framework.
  • The Kris Gopalakrishnan Committee report identified key NPD governance issues:
    • De-anonymization risks.
    • Central NPD authority.
    • Data ownership and sharing mechanisms.
  • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) released the National Data Governance Framework Policy (NPD Framework).
  • The NPD Framework lacks enforceability.
  • Unregulated NPD hinders optimal policy and decision-making.

Data Exchanges: Opportunities and Challenges

  • Data exchanges connect stakeholders and enable advanced analytics for better decision-making.
  • Unprotected NPD flow across entities can lead to privacy breaches and misuse by powerful actors (e.g., Big Tech).
  • Flawed data analysis can result in poor public policies.

Gaps in the NPD Framework

  • The NPD Framework lacks practical guidance for achieving its goals.
  • Stakeholder rights and obligations are unclear.
  • Data pricing mechanisms and legal structures for data exchange are missing.
  • Standardised governance tools are absent.
Global Examples of Data Exchange India’s Initiatives
Australia, UK, and Estonia use data exchanges in various sectors (e.g., housing, employment, agriculture).
  • Telangana (agriculture data exchange).
  • India Urban Data Exchange (Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs).
  • Department of Science & Technology (data exchanges for geospatial policy).

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Path Forward for NPD Framework

  • A critical evaluation of the NPD Framework can address existing gaps.
  • Regulatory design for data exchanges is needed.
  • This will:
    • Digitise and automate public services.
    • Reduce administrative burdens.
    • Facilitate inter-sectoral collaboration.
    • Build safeguards for NPD use and sharing.
    • Make civic digitization more participatory.

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