Tamil Nadu to share Government Data for AI Training

At the Global Startup Summit in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu’s IT and Digital Services Minister, P. Thiaga Rajan, announced that the state will integrate AI into governance across 55 use cases spanning agriculture, health, education, traffic, and more. 

Building a Unified Government Database
The creation of a single government database that collects data from several ministries and welfare programmes is a significant component of the project. With the intention of eventually integrating hundreds of millions of anonymised data inputs, about 18 crore (180 million) records have been processed to this point. Policymakers will be able to identify trends, streamline governance, and detect inefficiencies  such as when a family receives an unusually high number of subsidies with the aid of this extensive data pool. This unified database will support AI model training and policy analysis. 

Maintaining Privacy and Data Protection
Privacy remains a key focus of this project. The government has committed to ensuring that all personally identifiable information (PII) is masked or anonymised before the data is shared or used. This approach aligns with India’s upcoming Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), which emphasises privacy, purpose limitation, and secure data handling. Only anonymised datasets will be made available for research and innovation purposes. 

Collaboration with Startups and the Private Sector
To encourage technological development, the Tamil Nadu government plans to allow startups and private firms to access anonymised data to train AI models. By doing so, it hopes to promote AIbased innovation within the state while ensuring responsible and ethical data use. Startups could, for example, build predictive models to detect subsidy misuse or improve urban planning through traffic analysis. This collaboration aims to create a vibrant ecosystem where data is used for public goods. 

A Vision for Smart Governance
The initiative represents a forward looking step towards “smart governance.” It reflects Tamil Nadu’s vision to become a national leader in using AI for administrative efficiency and citizen welfare. By combining innovation, transparency, and data protection, the state seeks to demonstrate how technology can make governance more intelligent, inclusive, and accountable.  

Source https://www.discvr.ai/latestnews/ai/68eb60ecee42930952123010tamilnadutosharegovtdatasetsfor  

News of the Week  

1. Harvard University Admits Data Compromise, Notorious ‘Clop’ Gang Claims Responsibility After Global Attack on Oracle Systems  

Harvard University has confirmed a data breach linked to the Russianspeaking cybercrime group Clop, which claimed responsibility for the attack. The hackers exploited a known vulnerability in Oracle EBusiness Suite; a software system Harvard uses for administrative and financial operations. The attack did not target Harvard’s main academic or research networks but instead affected a specific administrative unit that relied on the vulnerable Oracle system. 

Reports state that Clop exploited this flaw before Harvard could install a security patch. Once the breach was detected, the university took immediate steps to isolate affected systems and deploy Oracle’s official patch to close the loophole. A forensic investigation is ongoing to determine whether any sensitive personal or institutional data was compromised. Clop, which has a history of largescale ransomware and data theft operations, is said to be running a global campaign targeting organisations using the same vulnerability. Although Harvard has not confirmed any ransom demand or data leak, the incident underscores the growing vulnerability of major academic institutions to sophisticated cyberattacks.  

Source https://the420.in/harvardsecuritybreachrussiancybercrimeclop/ 

2. Google asks employees to share health details with the AI tools for benefits. 

Google recently asked its US employees to share personal health and demographic information with an AI tool developed by Nayya as part of its employee benefits programme. The tool analyses data to recommend suitable healthcare and insurance options. However, reports suggested that opting out of data sharing would result in losing access to certain benefits, sparking internal and public backlash. 

Following criticism, Google clarified that the message was miscommunicated and that participation in the Nayya programme is entirely voluntary. Employees will retain full access to benefits even if they choose not to share personal data. The controversy highlights growing unease about corporate use of AIdriven data collection in workplace wellness and benefits systems.  

Source https://americanbazaaronline.com/2025/10/10/googleasksemployeestosharehealthdetailswithaitoolforbenefits468618/ 

3. Violation of EU Law by Microsoft

Austria’s Data Protection Authority has ruled that Microsoft 365 Education violated the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by unlawfully tracking students and mishandling personal data. The privacy advocacy group NOYB (None of Your Business) filed the complaint, arguing that Microsoft collected data from school users through tracking cookies and used it for commercial purposes without valid consent. 

The investigation found that Microsoft processed student data for its own business interests, potentially sharing it with entities such as LinkedIn, OpenAI, and Xandr, while offering little transparency to schools or students. Microsoft also failed to provide full access to individuals’ personal data upon request, directly breaching GDPR’s access rights. The Austrian authority dismissed Microsoft’s claim that responsibility lay with schools or its Irish branch, holding Microsoft Corporation in the United States accountable for key dataprocessing decisions. 

Microsoft has been ordered to comply with access requests, delete data collected without proper consent, and provide transparent information about its datahandling practices. The company has stated that it will review the decision but maintains that its education products comply with EU privacy standards.  

Source https://www.freevacy.com/news/noyb/austriandpafindsmicrosoft365educationinbreachofgdpr/6811