BS Number Wise: Govt's data website is a hard ask for information

Portal data.gov.in is difficult to negotiate and it is outdated, defeating the purpose of understanding economy and policy

The Union Budget this week projected the government’s balance sheet for 2022-23, besides giving revised estimates for 2021-22 and actuals for 2020-21. It listed the government’s plans for the financial year starting April; accompanying documents gave receipts and expenditure along with the outcome of schemes. What the government did not give is a time series.

For instance, the Budget said the government plans to spend Rs 1 trillion in 2022-23 on education. It did not tell what the government spent, say five years ago or two decades ago. It also did not tell how spending on education has been in