The ICMR National Institute of Epidemiology (ICMR-NIE) in collaboration with the Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG) and the Isaac Centre for Public Health (ICPH) at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), launched Advanced Data Analytics for Public Health Action and Research Venture (ADARV). The aim of ADARV is to make epidemic intelligence as fast, reliable, and actionable as weather forecasting.

ADARV enables users to analyse outbreak data rapidly and act on findings without dependence on external software or specialised statisticians. It also serves as a public health data warehouse for India. Researchers and institutions can upload their datasets and share them openly with the broader research community. This open, structured repository aims to shift the culture around health data, from silos to sharing and build a growing common of outbreak intelligence that the entire research ecosystem can learn from.

Director, ICMR-NIE, Dr Manoj V Murhekar said, "For years, outbreak investigation meant collecting data with pen and paper in the field, transferring it to spreadsheets, and waiting days or sometimes weeks before findings could inform a response. ADARV changed that during a hepatitis outbreak in Haryana, where field data collected in the morning was fully analysed within an hour."

He said that ADARV bridges the gap between data collection and public health action, thereby fundamentally strengthening how researchers investigate outbreaks and make field decisions.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor and Chair, ICPH, IISc, Dr Prabhdeep Kaur noticed the field epidemiologists struggling hard to analyse large datasets to generate shareable reports. "They needed real-time support, which is trustworthy, secure and state-of-the-art. ADARV turns that need into action. It lets field teams upload outbreak data and gets time-place-person insights within hours, not weeks. The reports can be shared with other stakeholders, too," she said.

Dr Sharan Murali, Scientist at ICMR-NIE and the lead epidemiologist who led the ADARV team said that the platform is currently being used to assist the outbreak investigations at Kerala.