Satya Nadella bats for global regulation on privacy

Hyderabad: A virtual conference between Telangana IT and Industry Minister KT Rama Rao and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stressed on the need for digital transformation and creation of opportunities in intersection technology and healthcare and the promotion of start-ups.

On the concluding day of the two-day life sciences event 'Bio Asia 2021', Hyderabad-born Nadella spoke in a fireside chat titled 'Charcha 2021 – Healthcare to Hit Refresh' with the Industry Minister.

Describing privacy as a human right, Nadella said he is hoping for a global regulation on safety and privacy of data that would make sure that tech products and services are safe to use.

"Start-ups are shaping the future of healthcare with lots of breakthroughs in the domains of biology, patient care and drug discovery. I see many start-ups attracting huge investments and coming out with breakthroughs, including voice-based applications, for the healthcare sector," Nadella said.

Stating that 2020 has been the year wherein the medical sector has gone through an evolution, he said there is no denial that there will be a lot of breakthroughs in the medical industries, precisely after witnessing such a global pandemic.

"If we have to speak about the start-ups, there has always been a sense of craving in the industry to address certain gaps in the society.¬ The start-up category has already shown tremendous potential in bringing in digital enablement in the medical industry and it is not just benefiting any specific segment but every possible individual in the country across cities and villages," the Microsoft CEO said.

The year 2020 has set a major challenge to society and it is big time that technology has to move a step forward, Nadella said, adding: "Now with such a pandemic hitting the world, data will be playing a centrifugal role.

Specially, to address a patient's health history, data will be at the core of any medical consultation." He said: "No matter how much debate we make about WRT Data privacy, we need to keep in mind that at the end of the day, it is the patient who would be benefiting from the data usage."

KTR deliberated on the technology impacting the healthcare industry and the initiatives taken by Telangana government in encouraging start-ups and promotion of digital technology.