In the present-day world, data is growing at an unprecedented rate and has become an integral part of the daily life of people across the globe. When the data is transformed into valuable information, it can improve life, boost economies, help eradicate poverty and enhance the quality of life. The global fight against COVID-19 underscored the critical need for data as a primary tool. In India, this was evident in how big data and data analytics (BDA) enabled a coordinated response, protecting public well-being. This vision continues to shape the country’s broader digital transformation.
India echoes this vision powerfully, through the UPI stack, data flow with simplicity and strength, turning digital payments into a platform for participation. What began as a tool for instant money transfer has evolved into a gateway for inclusion, connecting citizens, businesses, banks, and government on equal footing. In India, data doesn’t just move, it moves the nation forward, one click at a time.
In Odisha, the rollout of the Subhadra scheme, in a hassle-free, transparent, and efficient manner, providing financial power to around 1.2 crore women in record time, is an exemplary case of the benefits of big data management in the state’s social registry system. Subhadra Yojana is much more than a welfare scheme; it is a foundation for data-led governance.
While providing direct financial support to women, the programme is also building a rich, real-time database capturing demographic, socio-economic, and financial details of its beneficiaries. This is more than a registry, it is a dynamic map for convergence, inclusion, and transformation, one that holds the promise of turning aspiration into action and policy into progress.
This unfolding data revolution is not unlike the impact of past technological leaps. History shows that the full impact of general-purpose technologies took decades to materialise, not due to a lack of recognition, but because the supporting systems and infrastructure needed time to evolve. Similarly, data alone will not improve well-being. Its true value lies in its systematic transformation to create information, generate insights, and ultimately, improve lives. Transforming data requires a robust scientific system to be in place.
The Government of Odisha is committed to building a robust statistical system based on data knitting and networking across all departments. Under the Odisha State Capability and Resilient Growth Programme, supported by the World Bank, the state has embarked on a digital transformation focused on user engagement, quality assurance, data gap-filling, and institutional capacity building.
The objective is to create an interconnected data ecosystem that enables seamless data flow for evidence-based decision-making. At the heart of this transformation is the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DE&S), Odisha, the nodal agency responsible for managing the state’s statistical ecosystem. A customized National Quality Assurance Framework has been adopted to guide validation, supervision, and real-time feedback.
Odisha is also leading with its Data Dissemination Policy of Official Statistics–2024, anchored in a web-first approach. A dynamic statistical portal developed by DE&S serves as a central repository of unit-level data and facilitates ongoing analysis by trained statisticians and economists. A milestone in this journey is DE&S Odisha’s transition from traditional Paper-Assisted Personal Interview (PAPI) to Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI), using Survey Solutions - an advanced data collection platform developed by the World Bank.
Odisha is among the first states in India, and possibly the first, to pilot a fully digitized price data collection system using this platform. This transition can significantly enhance the speed, accuracy, and supervision of field data collection, while reducing manual errors and enabling near real-time validation.
Extensive district-level capacity building has been undertaken, creating a strong foundation for state-wide scale-up and replication. Similarly, the complete census of water resources is underway in the state through census of minor, major and medium irrigation, springs and water bodies.
As Odisha continues to weave data into the fabric of governance, it is not just building systems, it is building foresight. Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Odisha’s Vision for 2036 and 2047. As the state initiates steps towards achieving this vision, the role of data in monitoring the same can hardly be overemphasised.
Anu Garg
The author is Development Commissioner, Government of Odisha