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Understanding India through data

Tim Harford asks what numbers can and can’t tell us about modern India.

How do you go about understanding a country with a population as diverse as it is vast?

Data journalist Rukmini S is the author of Whole Numbers and Half Truths: What Data Can and Cannot Tell Us About Modern India.

Tim Harford spoke to her about the power and pitfalls of using statistics to make sense of modern India, from basic questions like average income to the huge challenges of keeping track of Covid.

Presenter: Tim Harford
Producer: Nathan Gower
Sound Engineer: Rod Farquhar

(Slum dwellers in Cuffe Parade across from the elite's ultra-rich apartments, Mumbai. Credit: Viviane Moos/ Getty Images)

Available now

9 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Sat 23 Apr 2022 04:50GMT
  • Sat 23 Apr 2022 22:50GMT
  • Sat 23 Apr 2022 23:50GMT
  • Sun 24 Apr 2022 00:50GMT
  • Sun 24 Apr 2022 13:50GMT
  • Sun 24 Apr 2022 22:50GMT
  • Mon 25 Apr 2022 09:50GMT

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