The National Data Governance Framework Policy (NDGFP) is a proposed framework by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), designed to standardize and regulate the management of non-personal and anonymized data across all government entities in India. The draft policy was released on May 26, 2022, to address the problem of inconsistent data management and a lack of a clear framework for effectively utilizing non-personal data for governance, research, and innovation. The policy aims to accelerate digital governance and foster an AI and data-led ecosystem by creating a large repository of Indian datasets.
A key mechanism of the NDGFP is the establishment of the India Data Management Office (IDMO) under the Digital India Corporation (DIC), which will serve as the nodal agency to frame, manage, and review the policy. The IDMO is responsible for setting standards for data storage, anonymization, and retention, and for managing the India Datasets Program. A significant change from earlier proposals, such as the withdrawn India Data Accessibility and Use Policy, is the provision that explicitly prohibits the selling or monetization of government data in the open market, ensuring data access is solely for public good and innovation. The NDGFP is closely connected to the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, as the NDGFP focuses on non-personal data while the DPDP Act governs personal data, creating a dual framework for India's data ecosystem.