Data-driven policymaking politics

Questioning India’s Statistical Systems
• The accuracy and quality of India’s statistical systems have been questioned.
• Economists and policymakers have called for more independence and neutrality in data collection, interpretation, and release.

Contextual and Political Nature of Statistics
• The construction of public statistics is informed by political commitments.
• The construction of public statistics should be transparent for good policymaking.

Statistics as Numerical Representations of Complex Social Experiences
• Statistics are attempts at numerical representations of complex social experiences.
• Choices about what to count and what not to count can be misleading.

Meeting Statistical Targets and Development Objectives
• Meeting statistical targets should not be confused with the achievement of development objectives.
• Documenting anecdotes, conducting audits, and collecting citizens’ experiential feedback is crucial for making good development policy.

Digitisation of Governance
• Digitisation of governance has made data scrutinising harder.
• The state has more data on citizens than ever before with Aadhaar.
• Data collected through payment apps such as Google Pay and PhonePe are used by FinTech start-ups to create financial products to sell to citizens.

Strengthening Data Systems
• The politics of data can be strengthened by creating data systems that are more citizen-serving.
• It is important to change the orientation from asking whether we have the “right” data or technical methods to what kind of data is most useful for citizens’ well-being.
• Digitally collected data should not exclusively be designed for the use of the government and start-ups.
• Policymakers need to expand their views of data collection from a mere technical exercise to a social and political undertaking.