Joint Paper on Enabling Data Transfers for India-UK Digital Trade

Terms of use

Terms of Use

The use of this site and the content contained therein is governed by the Terms of Use. When you use this site you acknowledge that you have read the Terms of Use and that you accept and will be bound by the terms hereof and such terms as may be modified from time to time.

All text, graphics, audio, design and other works on the site are the copyrighted works of nasscom unless otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.
Content on the site is for personal use only and may be downloaded provided the material is kept intact and there is no violation of the copyrights, trademarks, and other proprietary rights. Any alteration of the material or use of the material contained in the site for any other purpose is a violation of the copyright of nasscom and / or its affiliates or associates or of its third-party information providers. This material cannot be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed in any way for non-personal use without obtaining the prior permission from nasscom.
The nasscom Members login is for the reference of only registered nasscom Member Companies.
nasscom reserves the right to modify the terms of use of any service without any liability. nasscom reserves the right to take all measures necessary to prevent access to any service or termination of service if the terms of use are not complied with or are contravened or there is any violation of copyright, trademark or other proprietary right.
From time to time nasscom may supplement these terms of use with additional terms pertaining to specific content (additional terms). Such additional terms are hereby incorporated by reference into these Terms of Use.

Disclaimer

The Company information provided on the nasscom web site is as per data collected by companies. nasscom is not liable on the authenticity of such data.
nasscom has exercised due diligence in checking the correctness and authenticity of the information contained in the site, but nasscom or any of its affiliates or associates or employees shall not be in any way responsible for any loss or damage that may arise to any person from any inadvertent error in the information contained in this site. The information from or through this site is provided "as is" and all warranties express or implied of any kind, regarding any matter pertaining to any service or channel, including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement are disclaimed. nasscom and its affiliates and associates shall not be liable, at any time, for any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorised access to, alteration of, or use of information contained on the site. No representations, warranties or guarantees whatsoever are made as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability, completeness, suitability or applicability of the information to a particular situation.
nasscom or its affiliates or associates or its employees do not provide any judgments or warranty in respect of the authenticity or correctness of the content of other services or sites to which links are provided. A link to another service or site is not an endorsement of any products or services on such site or the site.
The content provided is for information purposes alone and does not substitute for specific advice whether investment, legal, taxation or otherwise. nasscom disclaims all liability for damages caused by use of content on the site.
All responsibility and liability for any damages caused by downloading of any data is disclaimed.
nasscom reserves the right to modify, suspend / cancel, or discontinue any or all sections, or service at any time without notice.

For any grievances under the Information Technology Act 2000, please get in touch with Grievance Officer, Mr. Anirban Mandal at data-query@nasscom.in.

New

See all

No notification found.

Joint Paper on Enabling Data Transfers for India-UK Digital Trade

Garima Prakash

@GarimaP

May 26, 2022

Public Policy

295

NASSCOM, UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and TechUK have released a Joint Position Paper on Enabling Data Transfers for India-UK Digital Trade aimed at promoting data protection in both countries while enabling free flow of data in the UK-India corridor. This is in furtherance of the recent decision of the Governments of India and UK to formalise a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The technology sectors in both the countries are perfectly geared to play a significant role in doubling the bilateral trade target by 2030.

Indian Tech Industry is a significant investor in UK and plays a leading role in achieving India’s position as the second largest source of foreign investment into the UK. It does so by employing local talent, upskilling them, making corporate UK more competitive and enabling it to grow. Key driver for this growth is the digital revenues which is 30-32% and growing at 25% yoy. At the same time there are over 100+ British Capability Centres in India leveraging India’s digital talent, innovative capabilities and scale to drive enterprise competitiveness, solving complex problems and managing risk. There are a number of SME companies from both side that work and collaborate with each other to solve business problems.

Digital trade is inextricably linked to the exchange of information, and hence a regime for data transfers along with protection of personal information is crucial, for growing the £24.3 billion total trade in goods and services between the UK and India, according to UK Department of International Trade estimates.

Given this context, this joint position paper outlines the suggestions on behalf of the technology sector in India and UK on the steps that may be taken under the proposed FTA to deepen the digital trade relationship by strengthening the data protection and international transfer framework.

This paper is divided into three parts. In the first part, we offer recommendations to both the governments on the potential commitments on cross border data transfers and protection of personal information in the proposed FTA. We encourage both governments to commit to the protection of personal information via adequate and comprehensive legal regimes. For cross-border data transfers and location of computing facilities, we suggest that governments undertake measures that are least onerous while pursuing public policy, national security, or strategic objectives.

In the second part, we focus on the domestic data protection and transfer regimes. We commend the efforts being taken by both countries in finalising their respective domestic legal regimes on data protection and transfers. India, via the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), is currently considering the latest iteration of a comprehensive draft data protection law- the Data Protection Bill of 2021 (DPB 2021) that was released by a Joint Parliamentary Committee, post reviewing an earlier version called the Personal Data Protection Bill of 2019 (PDP Bill). On the other hand, UK, through its Department for Culture, Media and Sports (DCMS), has recently concluded a consultation process on taking its current framework on data regulation in ‘a new direction’ by considering reforms needed to secure a ‘pro-growth and trusted data regime’. We offer suggestions on the specific areas where both countries could focus on, with a view to enhance ease of doing business and to enable the regulatory systems to be future ready.

Given that the UK Government has recently listed India as a priority destination for a future data adequacy partnership, in the third part, we outline the path towards an India-UK data adequacy partnership. Such a partnership will enable an open corridor for cross-border data transfers, innovation and collaboration between the two sides. We urge the UK Government to leverage the FTA negotiations to kick-start the conversation on a data adequacy partnership with India. In this context, we submit that an early enactment of a data protection law by the Government of India will be a key step towards a data adequacy partnership.

The joint paper can be downloaded from here.

For more information, kindly write to garima@nasscom.in.

Disclaimer

That the contents of third-party articles/blogs published here on the website, and the interpretation of all information in the article/blogs such as data, maps, numbers, opinions etc. displayed in the article/blogs and views or the opinions expressed within the content are solely of the author's; and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of NASSCOM or its affiliates in any manner. NASSCOM does not take any liability w.r.t. content in any manner and will not be liable in any manner whatsoever for any kind of liability arising out of any act, error or omission. The contents of third-party article/blogs published, are provided solely as convenience; and the presence of these articles/blogs should not, under any circumstances, be considered as an endorsement of the contents by NASSCOM in any manner; and if you chose to access these articles/blogs , you do so at your own risk.

Garima Prakash

Manager, Public Policy and Government Affairs

Reach out to me for all things policy about e-commerce, international trade, export controls, start-ups and fintech

Call for Inputs: SEBI's consul...

Swapnil