Talk Beginner

From Raw To Relevant: Harnessing Open Data to advance India’s understanding

Approved

Session Description

Open data communities have created an invaluable foundation in opening up and sharing data about India, with standards and documentation to make it more accessible for diverse audiences and needs. But not everyone is equipped to work with and understand the data.
Data For India leverages diverse open data sources including government surveys, legal databases, multilateral agency APIs, and climate data repositories to produce insightful writing, informative visualisations, and curated statistics.
Publishing all our context under a Creative Commons license to make the knowledge easily accessible and usable to a large audience. Readers are encouraged to also download, embed, and reuse our charts and datasets in their own work.
We have built a platform that allows our writers and researchers on the Data For India to easily explore and analyse open data, focusing their efforts on analysing data and deriving insights rather than wrestling with data preparation.
A dedicated measurement vertical demystifies how key indicators are defined across surveys — building transparency and trust, while helping readers become more aware of how metrics can be misunderstood or misused.
The power of open data lies in cross-referencing multiple datasets - for example, combining administrative data from government schemes with household survey data allows us to build a more complete picture of infrastructure access and several quality of life indicators.

Key Takeaways

How thoughtful data curation and storytelling help bridge the gap between complex datasets and public understanding
Lessons learned from presenting public data in ways that are accessible to general audiences — including challenges in interpretation, measurement, and visual design
Why open data alone isn’t enough — and what additional layers (like accessibility, context, and clarity) are required to truly democratize knowledge
Key principles and practices behind building a trustworthy data platform — one that avoids partisan framing and encourages critical engagement
What it means to build a narrative-driven, data-first platform focused on India. A collaborative effort between researchers, writers, and engineers.
Approaches to making long-term trends understandable: curating and comparing key indicators (like employment, health, and living conditions) across 40–50 years