Recent efforts towards creating a robust data protection in India focus on one aspect across various parts of the government machinery - Data Localization. Is data localization really a solution? Discuss. (200 words)
Refer – Live mint
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IAS Parliament 6 years
KEY POINTS
· Four key pronouncements in quick succession have hailed data localization as the solution to protect Indian consumers and safeguard India’s national and economic interests.
· These include recommendations by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the committee of experts led by Justice B.N. Srikrishna, the draft e-commerce policy and the draft report of the cloud policy panel.
· But, having data in India does not mean that domestic companies will be able to access this data.
· Localization might aid the growth of the data centre and the cloud computing industry in India, but as matter of wider public policy, such an approach is extremely myopic.
· The competitive gains of localization, if any, will be ephemeral and will drive up the infrastructure costs for Indian technology start-ups and SMEs.
· The $167 billion Indian IT industry is export-driven and deals with data of citizens and companies in the US, the EU and other parts of the world.
· Given the comparative trade advantages enjoyed by one section of Indian industry in this context, mandating a strict data localization regime could be perceived as a restrictive trade barrier and spur retaliatory measures.
· Competitiveness, not protectionism, will yield positive outcomes in the long term.
Shankaranand 6 years
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IAS Parliament 6 years
