Five steps for India’s new government to get its data act together

livemint.com:

A newly elected government affords India an opportunity to re-examine and update a fundamental building block for its fast-developing economy: its data and statistical system. A transparent, robust and credible data system is important for any country because it provides critical inputs to policymakers, investors, political parties, researchers and the media to conduct and critically evaluate progress. The more dependable and credible the system is, the greater the efficacy of policy and trust in potential outcomes.

It is a foundational precept that any country aspiring to become developed must reduce macroeconomic volatility over time. Here are five ideas for consideration: Declare ‘Glasnost’ for public data: Take a radical step towards making India’s statistical system open, transparent and modern. Most statistical systems in developed countries are transparent but suffer from legacy problems of measuring ‘industrial’ indicators in an information age.

India has a golden opportunity to leapfrog to a truly modern data system meant for the evolving economy of tomorrow. This will not merely match developed countries, but allow us to get ahead of them on many dimensions. The most effective way to do this would be to ask the National Statistical Commission, staffed with the right talent, to reimagine the data system.