Grand Tamasha: The need to reinstate India’s data credibility
Journalist Pramit Bhattacharya says the need of the hour is to insulate data collecting bodies from political interference
India was once home to a legendary statistical ecosystem that was the envy of the developed and developing worlds. But seven-and-a-half decades after independence, the country has squandered its competitive advantage. The end result is that Indian policymakers are often flying blind.
Read here: Cabinet clears fifth draft of privacy law
This is the major takeaway of a new report, “India’s Statistical System: Past, Present, Future,” published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and authored by the journalist Pramit Bhattacharya. Pramit expanded on his views on last week’s episode of “Grand Tamasha,” a weekly podcast co-produced by HT and Carnegie. After 24 episodes, the podcast wrapped up its ninth season and goes on hiatus until September.
Bhattacharya’s new report is arguably the single-best resource on the trials and tribulations of India’s data machinery. It is based on dozens of interviews Bhattacharya conducted with data producers and consumers. Bhattacharya, who writes the “Truth, Lies, and Statistics” column for Mint and the “Simply Economics” column for the Hindustan Times, emphasised the centrality of India’s data systems at this crucial inflection point for the country.
“At this geopolitical moment where India has a chance to emerge as an alternative manufacturing base for the world, we know what are the issues with the Chinese economic model,” explains Bhattacharya. “All of this presents an opportunity for a democratic country like India to really set its house in order and build a more welcoming environment for foreign investors.”
But Bhattacharya warns that reforming India’s apex statistical architecture is about more than geopolitics—it’s about democracy itself.
“It’s important to restore the credibility of official datasets simply because you don’t want to give bad actors a chance to take advantage of this mistrust, distrust or whatever you want to call it,” the author told Grand Tamasha host Milan Vaishnav. “You [need to] basically take preemptive steps to counter any possible misinformation campaign and protect your democracy against unwanted attacks.”
Read here: Why a balanced data bill is key
The urgent need of the hour, Bhattacharya posited, is to insulate data collecting and disseminating bodies from political interference. “In recent years, political pressures on the system have grown—and that is something most people acknowledge,” he says, “To solve this problem, you need a certain institutional architecture, a certain legal backing for autonomous statistical agencies both at the state and the central level.” Without such independence, Bhattacharya contends that India’s data woes will continue.
