Odisha Charts Roadmap for Stronger Data Governance Following High-Level Review

Bhubaneswar: A high-level review meeting was held on Tuesday at the Lok Seva Bhavan Conference Hall to assess the findings of the Data Capabilities Assessment conducted by the Data, Policy, and Innovation Centre (DPIC). The session was chaired by Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Anu Garg.

Opening the discussion, Anu Garg stressed the pivotal role that robust data systems play in modern governance. She underscored the need for adopting advanced technologies to streamline the collection, analysis, and distribution of administrative data across departments. She also emphasized the importance of standardization and uniform practices to lay the foundation for a strong data governance framework.

The meeting saw participation from top officials including Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary of the Electronics & IT Department; Aravind Agrawal, Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Higher Education Department; Jyoti Prakash Das, Director of Special Projects in the Panchayati Raj & Drinking Water Department; and representatives from various other departments and DPIC.

Urmila Chatterjee from DPIC delivered a detailed presentation of the assessment’s findings, which reviewed the current data management capacities within different departments and pinpointed key gaps. Among the major discussion points were the challenges of inter-departmental data sharing, security of access, data storage and backup mechanisms, and the critical need to enhance data quality.

The presentation also highlighted areas requiring urgent attention, including the creation of a secure digital hosting environment, disaster recovery readiness, adoption of standardized data formats, and ensuring system interoperability. The need for empowering departmental staff with advanced analytics tools to support forecasting, real-time performance tracking, and evidence-based decision-making was also brought to the fore.

The meeting called for collaborative partnerships with academic, scientific, and research institutions to foster innovation, support training, and ensure privacy-protected data sharing and analytics.

Concluding the session, it was unanimously acknowledged that building a state-wide culture of data excellence is essential for ensuring effective governance. The Development Commissioner directed DPIC to prepare a comprehensive presentation of the full findings along with actionable recommendations for discussion in the upcoming All Secretaries Meeting.