Praveen Pardeshi to co-chair state data policy’s governing committee

Pardeshi will share this role with the state’s chief secretary, Sujata Saunik. In the previous structure, he served only as a member of the committee.

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Thursday announced a series of revisions in the bodies formed to implement the state’s data policy. As part of these changes, Praveen Pardeshi, chief executive officer of the Maharashtra Institution for Transformation (MITRA), has been promoted to the position of co-chairperson of the data policy’s apex governing committee.

Mumbai, India - September 20, 2019: MCGM Municipal Commissioner Shri Praveen Pardeshi speaks about need of Metro rail and Sustainable Development at Khetan School Auditorium, Malad (W) in Mumbai, India, on Friday, September 20, 2019. (Photo by Satyabrata Tripathy/Hindustan Times) (Satyabrata Tripathy/HT Photo)

Pardeshi will share this role with the state’s chief secretary, Sujata Saunik. In the previous structure, he served only as a member of the committee.

The decision has become another major talking point in the corridors of power after Pardeshi, a retired IAS officer, was also recently appointed the chief economic advisor to the chief minister. He will advise the chief minister on policy decisions on state economy, finances and development.

Pardeshi will also lead the State Data Steering Committee (SDSC), taking over from the Additional Chief Secretary (Planning), who previously held the position. The executive body to the state data authority (SDA), will provide technical advice and support the implementation of the state data policy and its guidelines.

The restructured SDSC will comprise 12 members, including two invitees. This committee will be tasked with coordinating and overseeing the implementation of the data policy, ensuring effective collaboration across all state government departments and agencies. The original version of the policy was unveiled on March 17 but was officially withdrawn on April 9.

The state data policy allows the formation of a dedicated State Data Authority (SDA), data units at department level, governing council and state data steering committee for its effective implementations and decisions to be taken at the state level.

It allows appointment of a District Data Officer who will manage and oversee the district’s data-related activities, data classification, compliance with the policy and provide training to district and field-level officers. It also allows appointment of a data scientist who shall be responsible for identifying open access datasets along with their metadata to facilitate easy sharing and interoperability.

“Despite increased data generation, much of it remains in silos within individual departments, hindering data use and reuse and, thereby, lacking a data-driven decision-making culture,” states the policy document released on Thursday. “The Maharashtra State Data Policy 2024 (MSDP) addresses these challenges through a robust data governance framework and a dedicated State Data Authority (SDA) responsible for monitoring and enforcement.”

The policy seeks to minimise duplication of data, provide interoperability among departments and ensure governance structures for value addition in data services, the document adds. “This will enable seamless integration of datasets across departments at different levels, support comprehensive data analytics, reduce costs and promote useful data access to the public.”