Managing public sector data is vital for informed decision making, democratizing information in the country. Accelerating socio-economic growth and digitization in the country. In this context, highlight strategies for unlocking true value of data. (15 marks, 250 words)

Public sector data is the data generated by the public and various government organisations.

Harnessing this data is vital for many areas—

1. Informed Decision Making – By health data from hospital to determine area, and strength, and duration of lockdown.

2. Socio-economic transformation – Using sites like MyGov.in for feedbacks, sending weather forecast data to fisherman, health status to ascertain efficacy of govt scheme like Insomia-Myict Bharat, etc.

3. Democratizing innovation – Using people's data to GPS data to determine peak traffic hours, suitable road construction, etc.

However, there exist bottlenecks in public data sharing –

1. Privacy issues – Absence of any Data Protection legislation.

2. Digital divide – Rural-urban: Sharing data to rural areas continues to be a challenging task.

Male-female: There are lesser female Smartphone users. Harnessing data sharing will further enhance the divide.

3. Lack of telecom network/s in remote parts.

4. Credibility of data; data can also be tampered with growing concerns of cyber security.

5. Increased issues of government surveillance with

great flood of fatal recognition [by] Technology.

b. Social biases can exist in data, leading to incorrect decision making.

To unlock the true potential of data—

Data is the new oil. From health to education to innovation, it can benefit all areas.