Minister wants to upgrade IT Laws
The Electronics and IT Ministry has finalized a data protection law which will soon be taken to the cabinet and parliament for approval, Minister in charge, Ravi Shankar Prasad, has told an industry conference.
The announcement came as Prasad pointed out that India needs a ‘New Regulatory Framework’ for the digital world it is creating.
Other related laws such as Indian IT Law must be upgraded, said Ravi Shankar, who is also Minister of Law and Justice as well as Communications.
He addressed industry leaders at the second National Council meeting of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi on 14 June 2019.
India has the potential to be a US$1 trillion digital economy covering areas like software production, cyber security, e-commerce, electronics manufacturing and smart manufacturing, communication and data analytics amongst others.
The Electronics & IT ministry has started the ‘digital village’ scheme for one lakh digital villages with facilities like fibre optic based broadband connection, public wi-fi, computer centre, e-health and e-education services amongst others.
On the progress made so far by the digital India initiative, the Minister said “BPOs and common service centers in villages are delivering great services with 240 BPOs working in smaller cities where “digital appetite everywhere”.
He pointed out that India has moved ahead in electronic manufacturing with a cluster of 268 companies. More than 300 hospitals have been connected via e-hospitals and over 150 countries are connected through e-Visa scheme. Over 18000 courts have been digitized so far.
The alternate dispute mechanism is being fast traced and India needs to develop as a center for arbitration, said the Minister, calling for dependence on arbitrators from other countries to be reduced.
CII President Vikram Kirloskar said that on data localization CII is of the view that it can leverage India’s rich data store with security.
“And only a robust legal system can inspire confidence across the board,” he stressed.
Emphasizing the importance of data security, he said “India generates a lot of data and data sovereignty will not be negotiable.
“While some data mobility is important, we need to have reciprocity. We will keep data availability, utility, innovation, localization and security in sync.” fiinews.com
