India and the US are jointly developing a software that would enable sharing of data on various parameters and make the tool available freely to countries keen on democratising information. "We want to develop a software that makes it extremely easy for federal agencies to publish data in machine readable and human readable format," Aneesh Chopra, US Chief Technology Officer, told reporters here. The US had already taken the initiative of sharing data and has made available nearly four lakh data sets on its webportal 'www.data.gov'. The National Informatics Centre (NIC), following an agreement signed during the November 2010 visit of US President Barack Obama to India, had joined hands with its US counterpart - the General Services Administration - to improvise on the software. The new version is expected to be ready by early next year with the US and India deciding to share it with countries keen on sharing data with its nationals. During the visit of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the India-US Strategic Dialogue, the two countries signed a detailed plan on how to implement this programme. "Our whole emphasis is to democratise information. We are a country of billion people who are all connected. The next big thing is to democratise information. We want to create a system in which data is open to public," Sam Pitroda, Adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovation, told reporters here. Pitroda said he had spoken to several Presidents of smaller countries keen on sharing information with the public but cannot develop software on their own. "We want to create data.gov in a box, wherein such users can wheel in the software, put in the data they wish to share and use it," he said. The data.gov webportal, launched in the US in May 2009 with 47 datasets, today gives access to information related to the US on nearly four lakh parameters. India is in the process of drafting a National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) that seeks to free non-sensitive information resting in government files. The Department of Science and Technology, the nodal ministry for drafting the policy, has circulated a note in this regard and is expected to be considered by the Union Cabinet soon. "Initially there will be reactions. If we want 10 datasets and get only two it would be fine. In the next five years we may get seven," Pitroda said. "Leveraging the high-technology strengths and institutional expertise of both India and the US, the "open source" platform is intended to provide citizens access to government information via a user-friendly website and a package of e-Governance applications to enhance public service delivery," said a joint statement after the India-US Strategic Dialogue.