Big Data in Karnataka governance pushed back by proposal delay

After delays in conceiving a pilot project proposal for Big Data in governance, Karnataka Knowledge Commission has decided to draw up an overall road map instead, The Economic Times reported.

The proposal for the pilot project was expected to come up by June. But the task group comprising of officials, experts and academics failed to coordinate with the government as well as within the panel, causing delays. This proposal was expected to set the ball rolling for larger implementation of data-driven governance and modernisation of the state administration.

Pulak Ghosh, co-chair of the task group, told The Economic Times that there will be no pilot project anymore and that the team will now prepare an overall roadmap.

The task group is expected to get the first draft ready by the end of September.

“The task group is still conducting discussions with government departments. We thought that the pilot project can be completed in three to four months but because the task group members are from different states, getting them together, meeting with department officials and the state election has taken time,” said Mukund Rao, member-secretary, Karnataka Knowledge Commission.

According to Ghosh, the task group’s report will touch on aspects of policy-making by combining case studies from Big Data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. He says that despite the enormity of the task before them the team is trying to come up with a comprehensive document on how Big Data and other emerging technologies can be used for better governance and policy-making in Karnataka.

“Some of the topics that we are considering are healthcare, education, agriculture, water resources, urban planning, transport, artificial intelligence, and use of blockchain in land records,” Ghosh added.