On 17th Nov 2023, The NITI-State Workshop series hosted a session on 'Leveraging State Data Ecosystems for State and District-Level Policy and Planning' in Lucknow on November 17, 2023. This workshop is organized by Niti Aayog and supported by the World Bank. The workshop focused on establishing a strong data ecosystem at the state and district level, incorporating data-as-a-service, data aggregation, and data governance to harness the value of data as evidence. Distinguished guests, including Shri, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, Shri Durga Shankar Mishra, Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Awanish Awasthi, Adviser to CM of UP, Prof. Rajeeva Laxman Karandikar, Chairman National Statistics Commission, and Dr.K.V. Raju, Economic Adviser to CM of UP, participated in this significant event.
Professor Paul Cheung was honored to be invited to give the keynote address in this workshop. He spoke on the elements of managing a data ecosystem, drawing on my experience as the former Chief Statistician of Singapore and the United Nations. Representatives from the states presented interesting and insightful examples of using data in policy planning. Topics range from predictive analytics on the impact of droughts to economic monitoring at the district level, from monitoring the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme to open data platforms designed to foster an informed society. The workshop helped share good practices among the states. Prof Cheung is happy to learn that the organizers plan to continue this series of workshops to foster a community of practice in data management and analytics at the local level. Such an initiative will help India enhance a culture of data-driven governance and program implementation.