India’s upcoming technology regulations are back in focus as new ministers take over the office of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity). Your job will be to ease the tension between the government and big tech companies. Mint explains:
What technical regulations is India working on?
With IT rules out of the way, India has three major technology regulations in the works. These include a Personal Data Protection Act (PDP), which is similar to the European General Data Protection Regulation and forms the basis of how big technology companies operate in the country; a national cybersecurity strategy with 80 outcomes that can ensure data security and also have an impact on the country’s telecommunications sector; and a cryptocurrency law that regulates the future of digital currencies in the country. The cryptocurrency law can also set the framework for a digital central bank currency in India.
What is the status of these regulations?
A draft of the PDP law was presented in 2019. A data protection authority is being established and will take steps under the draft to protect the interests of individuals in India. However, the bill has been criticized for potentially giving government agencies too much power that could be misused. The newly appointed Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar announced in December that the draft law would not be approved in its current form. On the flip side, Treasury Secretary Nirmala Sitharaman said the government would take a “calibrated” approach to crypto, despite fears that the upcoming bill could ban crypto trading in India.
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Is the Internet the Only Part of India’s Technical Regulations?
India has also tried to lure electronics manufacturers to India. It has already implemented production-linked incentive systems (PLI) for the manufacture of mobile and IT hardware and is working on a plan to attract semiconductor and display manufacturers to India. These could seriously affect the export of electronic goods.
When could these rules be introduced?
The IT rules are already in place, but the other three are yet to come. National cybersecurity coordinator Rajesh Pant said the cybersecurity strategy would be rolled out later this year, while the finance minister said the cabinet note for the crypto law was ready, raising expectations that it would be presented at the monsoon session of parliament. A parliamentary body had discussed the PDP law for a long time and requested an extension during the budget meeting in March. It received the extension until the monsoon session.
What does the cabinet reshuffle mean?
Many industry experts say the reshuffle could be a good thing for the future of regulations. Chandrasekhar has been close to the tech sector throughout his career and is believed to have a good understanding of its intricacies. In 1994 he also founded BPL Mobile, the largest mobile network operator at the time. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the IT minister, is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur. It is believed that its first task would be to ease tensions between the Union government and big tech companies.
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