MoSPI organised a half-day workshop on "Leveraging Citizen-Generated Data (CGD) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India", on 17^th February 2025 at Janganana Bhawan, 2-A, Man Singh Road, New Delhi, as part of its ongoing initiatives to harness Citizen Generated Data. The workshop aims to enhance awareness and understanding of Citizen-Generated Data (CGD) as a valuable tool for addressing data gaps and promoting inclusivity in the national statistical landscape. It provided a platform to discuss the relevance of the Copenhagen Framework on CGD in the Indian context and explore its potential adaptation within the country's statistical system. The discussions focused on strengthening data ecosystems and supporting evidence-based policymaking.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, and was attended by approximately 75 participants, including senior officers from Central Ministries, MoSPI, as well as representatives from UN agencies and civil society organizations (CSOs).

Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, in his inaugural address, emphasized the importance of Citizen-Generated Data (CGD) as a valuable complement to the official statistics, helping to bridge data gaps and promote inclusivity. He highlighted MoSPI’s key role in India’s statistical system and the need for exploring the possibility of integrating CGD into SDG monitoring and reporting. He also emphasized that India is already engaged in participatory planning processes, social auditing, and CPGRAMS, all of these initiatives are aligned with the Government’s vision of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, and Sabka Paryas.” This is in line with the ethos of SDG of “No One is left behind”. Furthermore, these efforts need to be enhanced through a comprehensive framework. He underlined the various challenges involved in unleashing the full potential of citizen contribution to data such as subjectivity, representativeness, privacy and security, scalability, sustainability etc.  

Delivering the welcome address, Shri N. K. Santoshi, Director General (CS), MoSPI emphasized MoSPI's efforts to address the extensive data requirements for SDG monitoring and the need for granular insights. He highlighted that MoSPI is exploring non-traditional data sources, such as Citizen-Generated Data (CGD), Geo-spatial information, and other innovative approaches, to complement official statistics and strengthen the tracking of SDG progress across different administrative levels

Representative from UNRCO provided an overview of global advancements in CGD, introduced the Copenhagen Framework on Citizen Data, and discussed its relevance and adaptation within the Indian statistical system. Mr. Suresh Khadakbhavi, CEO, Digi Yatra Foundation, shared insights on generating Citizen-Generated Data (CGD) through the DigiYatra platform, while Mr. Rajiv Ranjan, DGM (D&TB), State Bank of India, discussed the use of CGD in the Digital Life Certificate for Pensioners Scheme.

Shri S. C. Malik, ADG, MoSPI, delivered the vote of thanks during the concluding session of the workshop.

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