The crisis of data credibility in India and the resulting policy challenge

While flaws in collection methods could have a bearing on an individual's citizenship status, the larger issue is the use of such data in policy formulation and implementation

Rahul Patil, a young and progressive farmer in his thirties, felt he was being confronted when a person, with a smartphone held in his hand, asked him details about the properties he owns, the small businesses he runs, and so on. The enumerator was a fellow from his village he already knew, one with whom he used to walk to school back in the day, in a well-to-do village 100 miles from financial capital of Mumbai. And yet, he felt insecure while sharing his details—read data—about himself and his family.

Though he found the questions familiar, he recalled that only