Digital sovereignty also involves the autonomy of Indians as far as ownership of that data is concerned, Ravi Shankar Prasad Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology said on Wednesday. “Therefore that data must be procured through free consent voluntarily acquired. That data must be used for the objective for which it has been collected, and the data fiduciary who procures that data must ensure proper safety and sanctity of that data,” he said. Prasad was speaking at the India Digital Summit, organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). Prasad also acknowledged the need for free movement of data across borders, but cautioned that such movement of data should be governed by strict rules: “I do acknowledge the implicit need for data movement across the globe, to keep the digital commerce intact. But the ground rule of that movement must be very clearly laid down. There should be reciprocity in data sharing, and we should never compromise on our digital sovereignty.” — IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad India should become a big centre of data economy in the future, Prasad said. “When I talk of data economy, I obviously mean data cleaning, data processing, data innovation. India has huge potential to become a data refinery,” he added. Prasad doesn’t name China while taking about app bans When asked whether India would take a tough stand against companies of Chinese origin, Prasad said that, “it is neither prudent not desirable for me to take the name of any…
