{"id":20602,"date":"2026-07-07T08:14:22","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T02:44:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/?p=20602"},"modified":"2026-07-07T08:16:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T02:46:03","slug":"the-evolving-landscape-of-data-valuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/the-evolving-landscape-of-data-valuation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolving Landscape of Data Valuation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-path-to-node=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-scaled.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-20605\" src=\"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-1024x572.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"358\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-1024x572.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-300x167.png 300w, https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-768x429.png 768w, https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-1536x857.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/India_s_Emerging_Data_Balance_Sheet-2048x1143.png 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"1\">For years, the phrase &#8220;Data is the new oil&#8221; was thrown around as a vague corporate clich\u00e9. Today, that narrative has\u00a0 shifted from an abstract marketing pitch into a measurable, techno-legal reality. Driven by incoming international accounting frameworks, local regulatory mandates, and indigenous governance models, India is establishing a structured environment where data is recognized not just as an operational by product, but as a quantifiable financial asset.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"2\">Evaluating the multi-layered initiatives across India reveals how different agencies are approaching data valuation, along with their current operational status.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"4\"><strong>1. Macro-Government &amp; Policy Initiatives: The Public Sector Shift<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-82\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"5\"><span class=\"citation-175 citation-end-175\">The government has recognized that to build a true digital economy, the state must find a uniform way to measure digital assets.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"6\">\n<li>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-83\" data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><span class=\"citation-174\">MoSPI and SNA 2025 Adoption:<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-174 citation-end-174\"> The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has actively engaged with the United Nations System of National Accounts (SNA 2025) guidelines.<\/span> These standards formally recognize data as an economic factor of production. Government committees are currently outlining how public sector undertakings (PSUs) should officially categorize and track data assets.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-84\" data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">The CAG Mandate:<\/b><span class=\"citation-173 citation-end-173\"> The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has signalled a clear need to capture the intrinsic value of data repositories within public asset reporting.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Current Status:<\/b> <i data-path-to-node=\"6,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"16\">In Development\/Policy Phase.<\/i> Draft frameworks are under review to determine how state-owned data exchanges and infrastructure datasets can be accounted for without compromising national security or individual privacy.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"7\"><strong>2. Regulatory Compliance Drivers: The DPDP Act &amp; Toxic Data<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-85\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"8\">The rollout of the <b data-path-to-node=\"8\" data-index-in-node=\"19\">Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA)<\/b> has upended traditional data accumulation strategies. <span class=\"citation-172 citation-end-172\">Data valuation in India can no longer be evaluated through the lens of potential monetization alone; it must be balanced against statutory liability.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"9\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Asset vs. Liability Dynamics:<\/b> With penalties reaching up to \u20b9250 crore per non-compliance instance, unconsented, poorly structured, or &#8220;zombie&#8221; data is no longer an asset\u2014it is an active balance sheet liability.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-86\" data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Current Status:<\/b> <i data-path-to-node=\"9,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"16\">Active Enforcement Preparation.<\/i> Organizations are actively filtering their datasets to compute their &#8220;clean data&#8221; volume. <span class=\"citation-171 citation-end-171\">Under this model, data value dynamically depreciates the moment a Data Principal withdraws consent or the processing purpose expires.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"10\"><strong>3. Indigenous Institutional Frameworks: DGPSI and DVSI<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"11\">While traditional accounting standards (like Ind AS 38) remain highly conservative about capitalizing internally generated data, pioneering frameworks within India have stepped forward to fill the gap.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"12\">\n<li>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-87\" data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Data Governance and Protection Standard of India (DGPSI):<\/b><span class=\"citation-170 citation-end-170\"> Developed by FDPPI, DGPSI has embedded financial data valuation directly into its governance specifications.<\/span> <span class=\"citation-169 citation-end-169\">Specifically, Model Implementation Specification 9 (MIS-9) explicitly requires organizations to establish a policy assigning a notional financial value to distinct datasets.<\/span> This ensures the board has visibility into the economic worth of the data assets they oversee. <span class=\"citation-168\">DGPSI\u2019s metric\u2014the <\/span><b data-path-to-node=\"12,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"455\"><span class=\"citation-168\">Data Trust Score (DTS)<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-168 citation-end-168\">\u2014serves as a core indicator of how compliance directly protects and enhances an asset&#8217;s baseline value.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-88\" data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><span class=\"citation-167\">Data Valuation Standard of India (DVSI):<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-167 citation-end-167\"> Operating alongside DGPSI, the DVSI model introduces a specialized two-stage valuation methodology.<\/span> <span class=\"citation-166 citation-end-166\">It calculates the intrinsic cost of data (using classic cost of acquisition or market parameters) and applies a dynamic multiplier index based on legal compliance, data accuracy, and cryptographic protection.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-89\" data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"><span class=\"citation-165\">Current Status:<\/span><\/b> <i data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"16\"><span class=\"citation-165\">Operational\/Implementation Phase.<\/span><\/i><span class=\"citation-165\"> The newly launched <\/span><b data-path-to-node=\"12,2,0\" data-index-in-node=\"69\"><span class=\"citation-165\">Association of Independent Data Auditors (AIDAI)<\/span><\/b><span class=\"citation-165 citation-end-165\"> is actively training and empanelling Certified Independent Data Auditors (CIDAs) to handle data audits that combine compliance testing with these advanced data valuation techniques.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"13\"><strong>4. Valuation in Insolvency and Distress: The IBC Track<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"14\">The most concrete financial realizations of data value are currently occurring under distressed corporate conditions.<\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"15\">\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15,0,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"15,0,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016:<\/b> Resolution Professionals (RPs) and Registered Valuers regularly encounter scenarios where a failed startup, fintech platform, or e-commerce provider holds minimal physical assets, but possesses massive, highly structured user databases and proprietary transaction algorithms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"15,1,0\"><b data-path-to-node=\"15,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"0\">Current Status:<\/b> <i data-path-to-node=\"15,1,0\" data-index-in-node=\"16\">Fully Functional Legal Practice.<\/i> Courts and liquidators treat these data stacks as intangible corporate property under Section 36 of the IBC, utilizing Income or Market-driven slump sales to maximize recovery returns for creditors.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"17\"><strong>Reconciling Value and Responsibility: The &#8220;Data Balance Sheet&#8221;<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p id=\"p-rc_5beb49ff312593fc-90\" style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"18\">The convergence of these initiatives points toward a inevitable destination: the <b data-path-to-node=\"18\" data-index-in-node=\"81\">Data Balance Sheet<\/b>. <span class=\"citation-164 citation-end-164\">Under a double-entry governance framework, personal data under management must be accounted for simultaneously as an economic asset and a corresponding contingent liability (accounting for potential data breaches, regulatory fines, and remediation costs).<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-path-to-node=\"19\">Organizations that wait for standard accounting boards to hand down a rigid template will find themselves exposed to severe regulatory and financial risks. Relying on frameworks like DGPSI to understand exactly what data you possess, what value it generates, and what risks it carries is no longer just a compliance choice\u2014it is a baseline requirement for modern corporate sustainability.<\/p>\n<p data-path-to-node=\"19\">(To Be continued)<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\" data-path-to-node=\"19\">Naavi<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, the phrase &#8220;Data is the new oil&#8221; was thrown around as a vague corporate clich\u00e9. Today, that narrative has\u00a0 shifted from an abstract marketing pitch into a measurable, techno-legal reality. Driven by incoming international accounting frameworks, local regulatory &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/the-evolving-landscape-of-data-valuation\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-privacy"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false,"post-thumbnail":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Vijayashankar Na","author_link":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/author\/naavi\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"For years, the phrase &#8220;Data is the new oil&#8221; was thrown around as a vague corporate clich\u00e9. Today, that narrative has\u00a0 shifted from an abstract marketing pitch into a measurable, techno-legal reality. Driven by incoming international accounting frameworks, local regulatory &hellip; Continue reading &rarr;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20602"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20606,"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20602\/revisions\/20606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.naavi.org\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}