India’s Digital Future Hinges on Data Quality, NITI Aayog Says
India's digital governance journey has entered a critical new phase, with an emphasis on data quality emerging as the cornerstone of future progress, government think tank NITI Aayog said on Tuesday.
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India’s digital governance journey has entered a critical new phase, with an emphasis on data quality emerging as the cornerstone of future progress, government think tank NITI Aayog said on Tuesday.
In a report titled “India’s Data Imperative: The Pivot Towards Quality,” NITI Aayog called for an urgent shift from scale to precision, warning that poor-quality public data is leading to mounting fiscal and social costs.
The report, developed in collaboration with data analytics firm Gramener, said accurate and trustworthy information is no longer a technical issue for IT teams but a basic requirement for delivering essential public services.
India’s digital systems have grown rapidly over the past decade. Unified Payments Interface (UPI) handled ₹23.9 trillion in transactions in April 2025 alone. Aadhaar verified more than 27 billion identity requests in 2024-25. Ayushman Bharat has enabled healthcare access for over 369 million people.
Despite this reach, the report stressed that even a minor error, such as a wrong digit, can block a pension or misdirect a subsidy, particularly for vulnerable citizens. It estimated that poor data quality leads to 4–7% leakage in annual welfare spending.
Real-life examples from government schemes underline the risks. In one case, a typo in a bank code delayed payments under PM-Kisan. In another, thousands of health insurance claims got stuck due to mismatched personal details. Cases of fake school meal beneficiaries and duplicate ration cards have also highlighted how poor data creates large-scale inefficiencies, the report said.
The report recommended that data quality be built into systems from the start. This includes automated checks at the time of entry, clear assignment of responsibility for records, and user access to view and correct their information.
It also suggested moving away from targets that reward speed or volume, and toward performance metrics based on accuracy and timeliness.
Many existing systems still rely on outdated software with limited error detection or auditing capability, the report said, and often store information in incompatible formats, creating bottlenecks.
To address this, NITI Aayog suggested the introduction of two tools for government departments to evaluate and improve their data practices: a Data-Quality Scorecard and a Data-Quality Maturity Framework.
These are designed to help officials identify gaps, fix errors early, and assign responsibility to dedicated data managers, Saurabh Garg, secretary at the ministry of statistics and programme implementation, said, adding that the next test of India’s digital systems will be how precisely they reflect and serve individual citizens.
“Strengthening data quality is foundational to realizing our digital ambitions—whether enabling AI-driven governance, ensuring targeted welfare delivery, or driving cross-sector innovation. It requires collective action, clear accountability, and a shared commitment from every department and ministry,” Debjani Ghosh, distinguished fellow at NITI Aayog, said.
Meanwhile: some improvements are already visible: removing 17 million ineligible PM-Kisan entries saved ₹90 billion in 2023-24, while scrapping 35 million fake LPG connections saved ₹210 billion in subsidies over two years.
To accelerate progress, NITI recommended three immediate actions: tighten data entry standards, appoint custodians for key records, and use dashboards that monitor data quality. These measures can be implemented without new laws or sweeping reforms, the report said.
Looking ahead, NITI nudged the government to make data quality a permanent part of administrative culture. This includes making it part of job roles, linking performance evaluations to data integrity, and promoting secure data sharing based on user consent.
In its closing note, the report said the success of India’s digital infrastructure will not only be measured by what platforms are built, but by how well they serve those who rely on them the most.
