Karnataka on Wednesday launched Tathyakosh, a digital public platform that aims to make India’s scattered public data easier to find, evaluate and use. The platform was launched by the Government of Karnataka’s Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at Vikas Soudha in Bengaluru. It brings more than 1.5 million datasets from 458 sources together on a single searchable platform.

Tathyakosh was created by ACSEL Technology Forum to help researchers, startups, developers and policymakers access public data without searching through several government portals and research repositories. The platform acts as a central discovery system for datasets available across different institutions. It organises the data using standard information such as the subject area, geographical coverage, time period, file format and type of access.

The platform covers 16 major areas. These include health, agriculture, education, infrastructure, environment, economy and governance. Tathyakosh draws datasets from 346 Indian sources and 37 international repositories that contain data related to India. According to the platform’s launch statement, more than 92 per cent of the listed datasets are open access. Around 95 per cent are also available in machine-readable formats, making them easier to use for digital applications and data analysis.

Tathyakosh also provides users with a system to assess the quality of datasets before using them. It gives every dataset a quality score based on seven areas. These include findability, accessibility, machine-readability, freshness, completeness, granularity and coverage completeness. This system allows users to understand the usefulness and reliability of a dataset before applying it to research or other projects.

The platform also offers a wide historical range of data. Its current coverage goes back to 1947. This gives researchers access to datasets from different periods and allows them to examine long-term trends. The quality assessment system also helps users compare datasets and identify those that are more suitable for their specific requirements.

Karnataka has a dedicated presence on Tathyakosh, with more than 50,000 state-specific datasets already listed. These datasets come from several state and research institutions. They include information from the Karnataka Open Government Data Portal, Mahiti Kanaja, KSRSAC/K-GIS, the Indian Institute of Science and the Raman Research Institute. Several of these institutions are based in Bengaluru.

The platform is being positioned as a digital public good that can support India’s growing focus on artificial intelligence and data-driven technology. Information Technology and Biotechnology Minister Priyank Kharge said India’s artificial-intelligence ambitions will depend not only on talent and computing capacity but also on the ability to access and use data already held across institutions. He described Tathyakosh as open, non-commercial infrastructure for researchers, startups, developers and policymakers.

Tathyakosh does not host or store the actual datasets on its own platform. Instead, it directs users to the original source where each dataset is available. This approach allows the original institutions to retain ownership of their data. Tathyakosh works as a central discovery layer that helps users locate and understand datasets without taking control of the underlying information.

The platform is designed to grow as more datasets become available. Additional government departments, research organisations and other institutions can add their datasets to the platform. This could expand the range of information available to users and reduce the time needed to locate relevant public data.

The launch comes at a time when access to reliable and usable data is becoming increasingly important for research, technology development and public policy. Researchers and developers often need information from several sources before they can begin their work. By bringing details of datasets into one searchable system, Tathyakosh aims to make this process simpler.

The platform also focuses on making public data more useful for modern digital applications. The high share of machine-readable datasets can help developers and startups work with data more efficiently. At the same time, the quality scoring system gives policymakers and researchers a clearer view of the datasets they may want to use.

With more than 1.5 million datasets already catalogued, Tathyakosh creates a central gateway to public data from India and relevant international sources. Its Karnataka-specific collection further strengthens the state’s presence on the platform. As more institutions contribute data, the platform is expected to expand its role as a common discovery layer for public datasets.