The Reasons Behind MOSPI Setting Up National Data Warehouse

An important part of this initiative is that only the relevant data necessary for the request will be shared with the requesting entity so that there’s no compromise on privacy. The national warehouse can help minimise fraud and assist in making informed decisions faster. Data is kept in a warehouse, where it can be queried, analysed, and used to make decisions. The data warehouse is a type of database used for storing data. Here we’ll know Why is it important to have a National Data Warehouse? What is a national data Warehouse? And National Data Warehouse and the associated facts. 

What is a national data Warehouse?

Data must be stored, analysed, converted, and monetized. The National Data Warehouse will serve as a massive secure data storage facility where the data can be queried, analysed, and used to make decisions.

It is said that multiple datasets are lying with various departments, some of which can help them in policy making and decision-making. For example, agriculture data can help farmers access affordable credit; energy consumption patterns can help monitor energy conservation and reduction in emission; consumer trends will help industries provide better products at more affordable prices.

The Government has made Aadhaar mandatory for all citizens of India following the unique identification project launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If approved, they receive only pre-processed aggregated data rather than raw numbers harvested from individual users’ profiles.

The Reasons Behind MOSPI Setting Up National Data Warehouse

MoSPI has set up a ‘National Data Warehouse’ (NDW). The NDW will collect data from various government agencies, including the MoSPI.

At present, several government agencies collect data from different sources. This information then often remains unutilized and is not available for public use. The NDW would make this Data more accessible by putting all of it in one place.

The process will have to overcome several obstacles:

•  Many government agencies do not share their gathered data.
•  Much of the collected Data is not available in digital format.
• The Data will be stored in Digital Format.
• It may not be machine-readable.
• Its format may not be standardised.
• It may not be updated regularly.
• It may not always be correct or complete.

Why is it important to have a National Data Warehouse

A data warehouse is a central repository for all or significant parts of the data that an enterprise’s various business systems collect. The most fundamental type is the transaction processing system (TPS), which collects data about users’ transactions, such as sales orders and customer information. 

The second type of system is an analytical processing system (APS), which accepts transaction data from the TPS and processes it to produce management reports that support decision making. These reports might show total sales by product category in specified periods, average profit per sale, or similar metrics generated in response to specific queries in a commercial context.

The information will be linked with an identification number assigned to each individual.

Aadhaar is the identification number linked to individuals’ demographic and biometric data that the Unique Identification Authority of India began issuing in 2010. Hence, it is also called the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) number or Aadhaar card. The adhaar card is a 12-digit unique identification number issued by the UIDAI to every individual resident in India for free. The Government has linked Aadhaar numbers with various services such as banking, mobile connections, and school admissions.

According to reports, this project will be undertaken by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), which works under the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The Government’s justification for collecting this information is that it can then analyse the data to plan better social welfare schemes.

This will eventually create a digital profile for all citizens.

The data warehouse will hold all the data collected by different government agencies and departments. The ministry stated that the data in the warehouse would be “consolidated, cleansed, harmonised, enriched” before it is made available for consumption.

This includes demographic and economic details such as name, address, date of birth, gender identity, etc., and education and income levels.

National Data Warehouse and the associated facts

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation is setting up a “national data warehouse” that will include details like education, work history, financial transactions, and health records.

While neither the ministry nor the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) explained what “financial transactions” meant, it could include details such as credit card or bank account histories.

The ministry also advises central government departments on statistical matters.

Conclusion

 In this informative article, we go through Why it is important to have a National Data Warehouse? What is a national data Warehouse? And National Data Warehouse and the associated facts. According to reports, this project will be undertaken by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), which works under the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The Government says it’s working on protecting citizens’ data through technological advancements such as encryption at rest and in motion, digital signatures, tokenization, and protocol level access control. It’s also using tools like proxy servers, firewalls, and intrusion detection systems to protect against cyber threats.