MoSPI Workshop on Data Harmonisation for Governance

MoSPI Workshop on Data Harmonisation for Governance

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) organized a Workshop of Statistical Advisers and Chief Data Officers of all Central Government Ministries, Departments and Organisations on September 08, 2026 at Rang Bhawan Auditorium, New Delhi. The workshop focused on the theme "Data Harmonisation for Use of Administrative Data in Data Driven Governance" with the objective of strengthening the National Data System, promoting effective use and harmonisation of administrative data, and fostering greater coordination for data-driven governance and evidence-based policymaking across Government.

Principal Secretary-2 to the Prime Minister, Shri Shaktikanta Das, launched the Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) portal on Data Harmonisation (https://qpr.mospi.gov.in). This technology-enabled platform will be used by all Central Ministries, Departments and Organisations to report progress in identification and cataloguing of datasets ready for dissemination, metadata preparation, use of national and international standards and classifications, implementation of common unique identifiers in machine readable data, and performing quality checks as per Statistical Quality Assurance Framework (SQAF). The QPR portal features automated validation, dashboards, cross-verification with the NMDS web portal, and provides analytical insights across ministries.

In his keynote address, Shri Shaktikanta Das emphasized that trusted, timely and interoperable data is essential for evidence-based policymaking and data-driven governance. He called for greater use of administrative data and statistical expertise across ministries for policy formulation, monitoring and outcome assessment. Key MoSPI initiatives highlighted included NMDS 2.0, SQAF, statistical classifications, data lifecycle guidelines, e-Sankhyiki, Microdata Portal and QPR on Data Harmonisation as important enablers of a stronger administrative data ecosystem. He urged all ministries to establish Data Governance Committees, publish data-sharing frameworks, maintain live dataset inventories and leverage existing national data-sharing platforms including API Setu, data.gov.in, NDAP, AI Kosh, DigiLocker, Entity Locker, e-Sankhyiki and microdata portal.

Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, highlighted the importance of effective data sharing, harmonization and interoperability across ministries to strengthen evidence-based policymaking and improve governance. He emphasized that availability of high-quality data is fundamental to the successful deployment of Artificial Intelligence for governance, and stressed optimal utilization of government data in view of rapid digitization. He advocated for a whole-of-government approach and leveraging existing resources including statistical officers, India AI Mission experts, NIC personnel and other data professionals.

Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, underscored the need to move from siloed departmental data systems towards an integrated, interoperable government-wide data ecosystem to support the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision. He emphasized harmonisation of concepts, definitions, classifications, identifiers, geographies, metadata and data structures for effective data utilisation. He highlighted the complementary roles of Statistical Advisers in statistical leadership and quality assurance and Chief Data Officers in data governance and interoperability, supported by the National Data Governance Committee and the QPR on Data Harmonisation.

Shri P. R. Meshram, Director General (Data Governance), MoSPI, highlighted the importance of moving beyond conventional data sharing towards common definitions, metadata, classifications, identifiers and interoperable systems. He emphasized the need to make data AI ready and machine readable, moving from structural interoperability to semantic interoperability, from isolated datasets to interoperable and linked data ecosystems, and from data availability to data readiness.

Technical sessions featured presentations on Data Harmonisation through the NMDS and QPR Portals; Model Data Sharing Framework and digital data-sharing mechanisms; institutional approaches to breaking data silos; AI-ready data ecosystems; Data DHARA methodology; India's Digital Public Infrastructure; UPYOG; health data; and preparation of thematic and extended accounts to measure the contribution of ministries in the economy. The Ministry of Corporate Affairs demonstrated API-based interoperability including beneficiary-validation use cases, while National Urban Digital Mission and Government of NCT of Delhi's Data DHARA highlighted the potential of harmonized data for real-time urban governance.

The workshop reaffirmed the commitment to build a modern, harmonised, interoperable and data-driven National Data System for evidence-based governance, emphasizing that data need not be centralized to generate value—use of common standards, common unique identifiers, APIs and governance mechanisms can enable interoperability across distributed data systems while preserving departmental ownership and ensuring privacy and security.