Thank you for responding to my query, Mr. Zade. I have been in touch with a couple of vendors and have received some estimates from one. If you can recommend some sources to me privately (or on the forum), that would be appreciated too.
But more fundamentally, I want to better understand the data acquisition and processing pipeline and the value addition that the commercial vendors are bringing in. As I understand, the census tables are publicly available at the town/village levels too. However, the Office of the Registrar General/Survey of India don't make the maps publicly available in a geospatial format. In that case, are there mechanisms wherein I could purchase the administrative boundaries for the town/village resolution through the relevant government offices and conduct the data merging at my end? Or it isn't as simple because the identifiers may not be consistent/unique across databases.
There is definitely merit in paying up for the convenience of having everything organized, and I may eventually do so. But I am just trying to think of ways in which I could maximize my available budget by using as much information as is available in the public domain.
Also, just a shoutout to all the members of the datameet community in general for being generous with their time and sharing their experiences and expertise!
Thanks,
Aditya