The government plans to cultivate India as a large data economy, and as a precursor, the country will soon have its Data Protection Law in place, said Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
“We are keen to promote India as a large centre for data economy and we will also finalise the data protection law soon,” said the Minister while speaking at the inaugural session of Bengaluru Tech Summit here.
Digital India has started showing its inclusive character, said the Minister.
He added that data will drive digital economy and international commerce supported by innovation and data refining. India produces a humongous amount of data in its digital ecosystem: be it mobile phones, Aadhaar database, e-commerce transactions, e-payments etc.
The government’s AI policy is aimed at inclusion of agriculture, education, and delivery without violation of ethics. “During the pandemic, the communications sector witnessed a growth of over 7 per cent and received significant investments from major global companies. It is a challenging time, but we decided to convert it into an opportunity,” he said.
Apple units in India
Prasad said that during the pandemic, the government received requests from Apple to shift nine of its units (components and manufacturing) from China to India. Addressing Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, he said: “In your State, Apple has started production of its quality phones for India and the export markets,” he said.
Prasad said that both Indian and global companies have committed to invest around ₹11 lakh crore in the next five years in businesses related to mobiles and components manufacturing. “In view of India’s enormous success in mobile manufacturing, we came up with a big idea of production-linked incentive” he added.