Countries must have sovereign right to use data for welfare of people

New Delhi: India has said countries must have the sovereign right to use their data for welfare of people, and free trade advocacy should not necessarily lead to justification for free flow of data.

It was stated by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal at the two-day G20 Trade Minister's meeting at the science city of Tsukuba in Japan on Saturday.

Goyal said that Digital India, Startup India, Aadhaar are some of the major initiatives in the country that promote economic inclusivity, using digital platforms. He said that with growing internet usage domestically, an enormous amount of data is being generated in the country.

"This includes personal, community and public data, and countries must have the sovereign right, to use their data, for the welfare and development of its people. Advocacy on free trade should not necessarily lead to justification of data free flow," the minister has said.

India has started the exercise to formulate a national e-commerce policy. It has taken views of all stakeholders on the draft policy, floated by the commerce ministry.

The draft proposes to set up a legal and technological framework for restrictions on cross-border data flow, and also laid out conditions for businesses regarding collection or processing of sensitive data locally and storing it abroad.

Issues of privacy and security should be given due consideration in the debate on free flow of data with trust, he said, adding that clarity on all these issues is essential before embarking on rule making on e-commerce.

"It is for this reason India does not, at this stage, support the joint initiative on e-commerce.