Srikanth RP Executive Editor, InformationWeek India
Given its vast population and multi-lingual and diverse culture, the scale at which India operates is massive. Thus, providing the perfect opportunity to test innovative Big Data projects in
While many Big Data projects are being piloted across the world, India with its vast population (volume), variety (multi-lingual and diverse culture) and velocity (the pace of data being added on a daily basis), appears to be perfectly positioned for piloting Big Data projects.
One of the first Big Data projects of massive complexity is India’s UID or Aadhar, as it is commonly known. Everything about Aadhar, which aims to provide a unique identity to 1.2 billion residents, is ambitious. Aadhar’s scope is to capture 12 billion fingerprints, 1.2 billion photographs, and 2.4 billion iris scans. Aadhar enrolment module processes about 1 million enrollment every day. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has already issued 56 crore Aadhaar numbers, with an average generation of about 13-14 lakh Aadhaar numbers every day.
Aadhar exhibits all the values that are characteristic of Big Data. The size of the data is huge and it is estimated that this database will be 10 times larger than the largest existing biometric database, which is created by FBI from the U.S. Once the system is fully developed, it can become the foundation or the platform to check an individual’s identity across multiple services such as free education, public distribution systems and pension schemes.
The Big Data angle was also apparent during the recent elections, where major political parties used Big Data analysis effectively to improve the efficiency of their campaigns. By mining social media effectively, political parties like the BJP managed to read the pulse of the voters accurately, which played a major role in their success.
More recently, Hyderabad-based startup Modak Analytics, built a Big Data-based electoral data repository of 81.4 crore voters. When you put this data in perspective with respect to other countries, the U.S. has close to 19.36 crore voters, Indonesia has 17.1 crore voters, Brazil has 13.58 and U.K. has 4.55 crore voters. Clearly, the scale at which India operates is massive. Apart from the volume, the startup had to deal with variety (12 languages) and velocity (due to frequent data changes).
Used effectively, Big Data analytics can significantly improve governance and efficiency of public services. For example, India with its rapid population growth and economic development is facing a serious water crisis. Can Big Data analytics come to the rescue?
A case in point is the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), which is using Big Data and predictive analytics technology from IBM to create systems for monitoring water distribution systems. Bangalore’s massive population growth (from 5.4 million in 2000 to over 10 million) has put tremendous strain on the city’s water supply and distribution systems. In partnership with IBM, the BWSSB has built an operational dashboard which serves as a “command center” for managing the city’s water supply networks. Around 45 percent of the water supplied by the BWSSB goes unaccounted. Implementing this solution will help minimize unaccounted water by detecting large changes in water flow, through real-time monitoring. While Big Data is certainly no ‘silver bullet’, India’s scale, variety and velocity of information flow, offers service providers the perfect opportunity to innovate and test out innovative solutions.