On December 12, 2024, the University of Chicago Center in Delhi hosted a landmark event titled Curating the Commons: Legal Data for India, organized by Data For India (DFI), a venture that aims to develop shared knowledge and deepen understanding of India using public data generated by the Indian government and global organizations.
The session was part of the 2024 Provost’s Global Faculty Award India and South Asia won by Professor Anup Malani, Lee and Brena Freeman Professor at the University of Chicago Law School, in collaboration with DFI. The session marked a major milestone in the effort to build a legal data vertical for India. It brought together India’s leading legal research organizations to address longstanding gaps in public data on the justice system. A distinguished panel comprising Dr. Saurabh Garg (Secretary, MOSPI), Abhishek Singh (Additional Secretary, MeitY), and Dinesh Pai (Zerodha, Rainmatter) discussed challenges and strategies for building a robust national data ecosystem.
The event underscored the role of public data in deepening understanding of India’s legal and governance systems and reaffirmed the Center’s commitment to supporting evidence-based research and policy innovation.
