Praveen Pardeshi now co-chair of panel responsible for Maharashtra data policy

“The Government of Maharashtra recognizes the transformative potential of data for efficient and transparent governance. 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. 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,” said the policy document.

The policy recommends formation of the State Data Authority (SDA). “Government of Maharashtra…shall establish State Data Authority (SDA) for the purpose of facilitating implementation and to ensure compliance of the Maharashtra State Data Policy. The SDA will be a part of MITRA,” it said, adding that the SDA shall prepare comprehensive guidelines and standards to oversee the complete data lifecycle, including data protection.

Under the new policy, the ownership of personal data shall reside with the Data Principal(s), while the Data Fiduciary, which is the department, organization, or agency that has primarily generated the data directly or indirectly, shall be responsible for its management. It can only be collected in accordance with DPDP, and for a lawful purpose, for which the Data principal has given consent and for certain legitimate use and public good and should be masked with a unique number. Data collected automatically through various digital schemes and Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes (PM Kisan, scholarships, PM Awas, etc.) should become accessible to the SDA.

All departments, organizations and agencies are required to adhere to the data security and protection standards as outlined in the DPDP Act concerning personal data. Additionally, they must comply with any security and protection guidelines for non personal data as issued by the Central or state government from time to time.