New Delhi : Proposing to break wall between the government and private organizations, the ASSOCHAM has written to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the National Security Advisor offering to set up a national data bank from billions and trillions of e-transactions and exchange of information, to be used for the common citizens as also for the country’s strategic needs.
In identical letters to the PMO and NSA Ajit Doval proposed creation of Cyber ‘National e-Information Data Bank’ of Classified and Heritage Documents for National Archive’.
The proposal involved creation of a ‘Central Co-ordination Committee’, under guidance of National Security Council Secretariat ( NSCS).
“While a similar concept has now been proposed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), we had submitted a blueprint way back in December,” ASSOCHAM Secretary General D S Rawat.
The chamber’s letter stated that with the advent of ‘Information Super Highway’ the real issue lies in deriving ‘Intelligent Information out of Junk data’ that can help take cognitive decisions to its various stakeholders.
The assimilation, mining, analysis and dissemination of any information of ‘National’ importance is a critical part of the activities of many governmental and private agencies and institutions.
Attempts have to be made for nation-wide co-ordination and regulation of information resource management.
Today with the quantum growth in volumes, variety and velocity at which data is generated on every click in this electronic age the availability and practical use of such intelligent information is one of the most immediate needs in the data-rich landscape of tomorrow.
However, a clear legal framework is required to legitimize the need for creating National Data Bank of e-Information of Classified and Heritage documents for National Archive which can be integrated with ‘National Information Policy’ demarcating information into broad three categories – information in public domain, information to be used by Government agencies for generation of social security No/ID, passport, voter ID etc and classified information restricted by law.
This program can also be integral part of Central Governments ‘Digital India and e-Governance’ initiatives preserving the ‘Classified Information’, ‘Written Heritage’, ‘Intellectual Property Right’ ( IPR), the ‘Right to Information’ along with the ‘Rights of Citizens’ encompassing golden rules of open standard for data access, flexibility, quality and transparency of data, legal conformity along with maintaining best practices and professional standards, allowing interoperability.
“Today the value potentials of ‘Big Data Management’ are widely recognized at all levels by the Government. The data collected from public domain when analyzed and maintained over time, its potential can be fully ascertained. Data that may be non-sensitive in nature could be used by public for scientific, economic and developmental purposes.”
Various agencies trying to extrapolate the benefits of various e-governance programs feel the need to share large amount of data generated residing among the entities of the government of India. This calls for a need to leverage these data assets which are disparate lying in isolation with various government Agencies working in silos.
This is also leading to duplication of data resulting in effective loss of efforts and loss of effective planning and co-ordination amongst various agencies. (ANI)