- The report titled “Digital Technology Policy for India’s $5 Trillion Economy”, was authored by Ikigai Law
- The report stated that an incentive framework should be created to incentivise a voluntary shift to storage on local data servers in India in the long term, without disrupting ease of doing business in the country
According to a report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), technology and digitisation will play a key role in achieving the $5 trillion economy tag. The report titled “Digital Technology Policy for India’s $5 Trillion Economy”, was authored by Ikigai Law.
“To ensure fast and efficient digitalisation, India’s regulatory approach should focus on regulating ‘core’ industry players, and not entities that fall on the ‘edge’ of the regulatory spectrum,” said the report.
The report mentioned about the harmful consequences associated with mandatory data localisation and recommended that the government should reconsider the imposition of ‘hard’ data localisation. It stated that an incentive framework should be created to incentivise a voluntary shift to storage on local data servers in India in the long term, without disrupting ease of doing business in the country.
The report also suggested the removal of criminal penalties from the PDP Bill. “Such penalties are excessively harsh and disproportionate, particularly since the civil penalties themselves function as effective deterrents against data breaches and other violations of the PDP Bill. Further, criminal penalties would disincentivise small and medium-sized enterprises from participating in the digital economy,” said the report.
Offenses under the proposed PDP Bill are punishable with criminal penalties that include imprisonment of up to 5 years.
The report also presents a set of guiding principles that may be used to make appropriate technology policy that India needs on its way to becoming a $5 trillion economy.
