HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Nov 22: NITI Aayog, in collaboration with Janaagraha, has launched the City Data and Analytics Platform (CDAP), an integrated system for urban data aimed at strengthening data-driven policy-making across India’s cities.
The platform, introduced on November 20, serves as a dedicated microsite on the National Data and Analytics Platform (NDAP).
CDAP was unveiled by Anurag Jain, chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh, during the inaugural session of NITI Aayog’s Data Forum 2025 in Bhopal.
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The session began with an address by Anna Roy, principal economic advisor and programme director at NITI Aayog, followed by an introduction to the platform by Srikanth Viswanathan, CEO of Janaagraha.
The launch was attended by senior state officials, central government representatives, academics, researchers and international experts.
World Bank Senior Economist Thomas Danielewitz and Madhya Pradesh Additional Chief Secretary (GAD) Sanjay Kumar Shukla were also present.
India’s urban population is projected to exceed 800 million by 2050, with the contribution of cities to GDP expected to rise from 63% to 75% by 2040.
NITI Aayog noted that achieving the potential of India’s urban centres will require targeted reforms grounded in reliable, verified and integrated data.
At present, urban data is maintained in silos across departments, urban local bodies and parastatal agencies.
CDAP seeks to bridge these gaps by aggregating data from national, state, district and city levels.
Powered by government datasets, the platform allows cross-sectoral, spatial and temporal data visualisation and analysis, enabling more transparent, accountable and inclusive urban governance.
The platform is designed to support evidence-based decision-making and promote a place-based, holistic approach to urban planning.
Over time, CDAP aims to expand the depth and granularity of its datasets at district, city and ward levels, creating a standardised foundation for urban data in India.
Anand Iyer, chief policy and insights officer at Janaagraha, said CDAP will help integrate disparate datasets towards shared urban outcomes.
“It is the use-cases that can be generated between several data-sets and located spatially that gives the true picture and enables useful decision-making,” he said.
Neha Malhotra Singh, who leads CDAP at Janaagraha, described the platform as a systemic solution offering credible, standardised and spatially comparable datasets.
She said it will enable governments, researchers and citizens to engage meaningfully with urban data.
Anna Roy said CDAP builds on NDAP’s goal of making public data accessible and actionable.
“By deepening the granularity of data and enabling a spatialised view critical for decision-making for India’s cities, CDAP advances NDAP’s vision of making public data truly accessible, insightful, and actionable,” she said.
CDAP has been conceived, created and operated by Janaagraha with technical support from IBM through the IBM Impact Accelerator and Social Bytes.
