Methodology
How we turn millions of citizen votes into a single, transparent ranking.
The formula
Weighted score
weighted_score =
(verified_votes × 1.0)
+ (unverified_votes × 0.5)
+ (priority_votes × 5.0)
× diversity_multiplier
× recency_decay- verified_votes
- Votes from Aadhaar-verified citizens (full weight).
- unverified_votes
- Votes from accounts that have signed up but not verified yet (half weight).
- priority_votes
- The 10 monthly high-weight votes every verified citizen gets to spend on demands they care about most.
- diversity_multiplier
- 1.0 baseline. Boost up to 1.25× for demands with broad geographic and demographic support.
- recency_decay
- Mild time decay so older demands gradually yield to fresh momentum, without erasing long-term support.
Weighted score formula
Every demand has a weighted score that decides its position on trending lists and the Top 100. The score balances how many people want it, how strongly, how diverse the support is, and how fresh that support is.
How the Top 100 is determined
We rank all live demands by weighted score, refreshed every 15 minutes. To prevent any single state, age band or category from dominating, we apply diversity dampening: demands with support from at least 12 states and 3 age bands are boosted; concentrated demands are slightly normalised.
Verification system
Citizens verify via Aadhaar-linked OTP. Verified votes count at full weight (1.0×); unverified votes count at half (0.5×). Priority Votes — 10 per verified citizen per calendar month — count 5×. Organisations and representatives go through document-based verification before they can publish demands or responses.
Anti-spam measures
We use device fingerprinting, behavioural rate limits, machine-learning bot detection and manual review of unusual surges. Suspicious votes are flagged, reviewed, and removed if confirmed. Patterns of coordinated inauthentic behaviour result in account suspension and removal of associated votes.
Data privacy approach
Aadhaar numbers are hashed and never stored in raw form. Personally identifiable information is separated from public vote data. Only aggregated, anonymised statistics are exposed via our public API. Read the Privacy Policy for the full detail.
Conflict of interest policy
Team members and moderators recuse themselves from any moderation decision involving demands they personally support, their employer, or any organisation they advise. All organisation accounts must declare political and commercial affiliations publicly. Funding sources for India Wants itself are published on the About page.
Methodology version 2026.1 — published 1 June 2026. Substantive changes are announced 14 days in advance and logged publicly.