The ‘data-driven governance’ initiative and the ‘digital nerve centre’ platform are proving to be a boon for rural India
India, with its large land mass and even larger population, needs technology to drive scale and impact in governance and development. The Tata Trusts have used technology in areas where the scope for triggering change is maximum — for instance in government decision-making and in primary healthcare.
Today the ‘data-driven governance’ (DDG) initiative (launched by the Tata Trusts in 2015) and the ‘digital nerve centre’ (DiNC) technology platform (developed in 2017 by Tata Consultancy Services and supported by the Tata Trusts) are helping improve day-to-day living for millions of rural Indians.
DDG supports government administrations in planning and decisions by making field data more accessible and effective.
It is based on the DELTA (data, evaluation, learning, technology and analysis) framework, a micro-planning platform that has been employed across 1,200 village councils in four districts — Baleswar in Odisha, Chandrapur in Maharashtra, Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh and Noamundi in Jharkhand — where DDG is driving community development.
Hunting for data
Baleswar and Chandrapur districts are now part of the ‘DELTA plus’ programme. Here, hundreds of volunteers have fanned out to conduct surveys and collect data on issues such as water availability, the number of wells and toilets, and schools and teachers. Fed into the DELTA framework, the data will help government officials take better-informed decisions.
DiNC is a digital platform that connects far-flung primary health centres with a central hub, enabling patients to get easy access to doctors and treatment. It operates in seven districts across three states: one in Karnataka, two in Himachal Pradesh and four in Telangana.
The initiative reaches more than 5 million people and the aim is to expand this to cover 20 million by 2020. The Trusts are also using the DiNC platform to support its national cancer care initiative, as a connector of India’s leading cancer centres.
Tech-enabled DDG and DiNC are primed to help India cope better with its many challenges.