Hi there!
I was recently having one of my "heart-to-heart" chats with a dear friend who has been subject to my relentless conversations over the years on data privacy and its development in India — albeit via "baby steps." After giving me her usual patient ear, she joked about how her own baby grew into a "perpetually online" teenager over the last decade as she listened to my alternating optimistic highs and pessimistic lows on the topic. In her view, nothing really seems to have changed and India’s data privacy law seems to be perpetually "around the corner."
I laughed and nodded, but I later came home and mulled about what she said. Is it just my unbridled optimism making me see the upward trajectory of data privacy and protection in India … or are there really developments I'm connecting as dots to make an upward curve? I do think it is the latter.
Let me outline some of these "dots" that give me cause to cheer.
Firstly, there is "Digital India" and its various indicators.
India recently crossed the 800-million mark of the number of internet users in the country — which is more than 50% of India’s 1.4 billion population. Also, while the quantum of 800 million users is huge by any standards, there is further scope to grow as well.
The India Stack UPI, the country's real-time mobile payments system, along with Aadhaar and associated open technologies have propelled digital payments and transactions to an extent that the flower vendor down the road accepts online payments for as low as 20 rupees (about USD .25) and I often step out of my house with just my mobile phone, knowing I can pay for anything with just my mobile.
Government services of all types are available online, from registration of births to registration of property to registration of vehicle purchases.
I can go on and on. Suffice to say various segments of the economy seen the writing on the wall — and are making investments to ride the anticipated growth of the digital engine.
For example, 5G roll out is in full swing in the country. The scale of data-based offerings expect to ride on this and several orders higher than the current levels.
Credit-rating firm ICRA published they expect a 6-time growth in data centers in India over the coming six years, fueled by the upcoming data explosion and anticipated data localization measures.
While developments, and news like the above, gave the privacy practitioner in me several sleepless nights, I take succor in other parallel developments.
To begin, the Supreme Court of India has been demanding about privacy. As a result, the government of India gave them an affidavit that the data privacy bill will be shortly introduced in Parliament.
Meanwhile, ministers concerned with digital policy and lawmaking, as well as ministry officials, have made various assertions in the media. This week there was a debate on the age definition of an adult. The current proposal to stick to 18 years old is contested by various stakeholders. Ministry officials have said any decision to lower the age will be taken only a year after the law is enacted.
In a recent business summit, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar outlined some of the measures planned. In addition to the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, the 22-year-old Information Technology Act will be replaced by the upcoming Digital India Act. Standards will be defined for new-age technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning to ensure innovation cannot happen without scrutiny and accountability.
So, all in all, 2023 promises to make some significant strides in regulating the digital economy. With it, hopefully, the "perpetually online" teenager’s mom will start breathing easier.
