Administrative data has emerged as a powerful and strategic asset for modern governance and decision-making. Generated as a byproduct of routine administrative processes, it offers granular insights not only for decision-making but also to enable governments and institutions to move towards more continuous and comprehensive data systems.

In India, over the past decade, the growing digitalisation of public services has led to a substantial increase in the availability of digital data across diverse socio-economic dimensions. Almost every ministry and department at the Centre and in states/UTs now relies on internal MIS systems and dashboards that collect and collate data from stakeholders. Examples include the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) for school education, Udyam for MSMEs, Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment (POSHAN) Tracker for child nutrition, Aadhaar, GSTN data and Health MIS.

While these systems provide significant value within individual departments, their impact can be enhanced through harmonisation of datasets, enabling information from different sources to be combined to generate more meaningful insights. The vast volume and diversity of administrative........

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