BS Number Wise: The case of the missing coronavirus data

Judged on 11 criteria, state and central governments don't do a good job in sharing accessible and timely information on the disease

In 1661, English statistician John Graunt wrote a book that changed how people and the state used data. In ‘Natural and Political Observations Made upon the Bills of Mortality’, Graunt analysed data from parishes to estimate the population of London, its birth and mortality rates. By categorising the causes of death in the city, his work also laid the foundation of epidemiology.

Data has since shaped policy across the world. The first pieces of legislation reforming working hours and banning child labour used data as evidence.

India’s relationship with data is complicated. Data informs public policy and decision making, but