The second edition of the #OpenDataConclave (ODC) conceived by Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB (BIPP) under its project #IndiaDataPortal (IDP) was held online, Tuesday, 28 September 2021. The Conclave saw a panel discussion on #opendata.

Sitanshu Mohapatra National Informatics Centre, MeitY said, ‘both open-sourced public data and closed data should come under one umbrella for accessibility.’

‘Both government & private bodies should be proactive in collecting relevant #data & sharing it with public especially #journalists,' said Irobiha Meitei, The Frontier Manipur.

'There is a need not only to reconcile the #data but also to monitor it. Additionally, district bifurcation in some states is one of the major reasons for data unavailability,’ said Soumya Guha NITI Aayog.

Nidhi Jamwal Gaon Connection said, ‘there is an urgent need for getting highly granular level data for an organisation like #GaonConnection. Open data portal is very much appreciated and very essential for journalists for viewing the grassroots level data.'

Adding to the discussion Rakesh Dubbudu Factly Media & Research said, ‘culture of data sharing must be encouraged with more engagements with states. Information should be readily accessible for various stakeholders. Making #data available will help citizens, journalists but also the government.'

Moderating the panel discussion Prof Avik Sarkar, Ph.D., Bharti Institute of Public Policy, ISB said, 'there is a good amount of open data at national and state level, but access and dissemination of granular open data at the district, tehsil, city, and village level still remains a challenge.'

The event also saw the launch of ‘Best News Article’ competition. Talking about the competition Dr. Aarushi Jain, Bharti Institute of Public Policy Indian School of Business said that the competition invites entries under 7 language categories: #Hindi, #English, #Odia, #Bengali, #Telugu & other Indian #languages. Entries must be submitted on www.indiadataportal.com - News & Graphics section.