Description: This paper examines how access to high-quality public data influences the innovation capacity and competitiveness of Indian start-ups, and which policy approaches most effectively advance these objectives. The analysis seeks to evaluate how Indian start-ups actually use data, what forms of access they value, and where the policy levers for improvement lie. To that end, the report presents findings from a primary survey of 510 start-ups across fourteen major Indian cities and emerging hubs, probing the sources, types, and quality of data used by start-ups; their perceptions of government and private data access regimes; and their policy preferences for reform.
Attribution: Meghna Bal, Shweta Venkatesan, Aaqib Qayoom, Avneet Oberoi, and Dr. Samira Sarah Abraham. An Empirical Assessment of the Data Needs of Indian Start-ups. May 2026, Esya Centre.