NITI Aayog bats for increased efforts by Indian authorities on data protection

NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar Wednesday made a case for adopting a middle path with regard to data protection, saying "data nationalism" may be the antithesis of global growth. He said access to data is crucial for achieving faster growth which is now being driven by the digital economy. Speaking at the 'Raisina Dialogue 2019' here, Kumar said, "I think there is a midway, that will make for digital cooperation as opposed to data protection."

He said India would be the creator of the largest amount of data going forward. "We have something like data nationalism and data nationalism may be the antithesis of global growth of the digital economy," he said. India is in the process of coming out with a law on data protection. The draft personal data protection bill was prepared by a high-level panel headed by Justice B N Srikrishna. The draft bill moots seeking "explicit consent" for processing 'sensitive personal information' like religious or political beliefs, sexual orientation and biometric details.

It suggests steps for safeguarding personal information, defining obligations of data processors as also rights of individuals, and proposed penalties for violation. The draft of Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 also restricts and imposes conditions on the cross-border transfer of personal data, and suggests setting up of Data Protection Authority of India to prevent any misuse of personal information.

(With inputs from agencies.)