Development data in India is copious, but poorly organized. Different sources have different formatting, "menus" of data are nowhere available, datasets reside in scattered agencies, among other problems. At the same time, the ability to quickly quantify and compare development outcomes across districts or states and over time is increasingly important for understanding policy priorities, benchmarking development outcomes, as well as evaluating policy successes.

The India Development Indicators website brings together disparate central, state, and local databases and makes these searchable by topic, place, and time, visualizable as charts, maps, and other graphics, and downloadable for analysis.

The project, funded by Google.org, is a joint effort by KnowledgePlex, Inc. (KPI) and the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR).