Is ‘big data’ over-hyped? The importance of good data for improving health policy in Punjab

Despite the hype around ‘big data’, caution should be urged. Efforts to improve data collection require greater coordination and planning in order to ensure greater quality and usability of data. Overcoming the inertia around data collection needs a longer-term view on the application of the data. Improvements to collection and organisation of data sets can then facilitate integration of different kinds of data to better inform experimental policy designs.