India Will Chart Its Our Own Course In Internet Policy Making: MoS Chandrasekhar

Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Wednesday said India with 820 million internet users deserves to have its own way to decide what kind of internet they want and will chart its own course in policy making on the future of internet.

The Minister said asserted that India does not have to follow any other country or global practice for its policy making on the future of Internet.

“European GDPR is considered a gold standard for privacy and data protection. But we would like to disagree. With more than 820 million internet users, we have the largest presence on global internet and deserve an opportunity to shape our own destiny. We will chart our own course and build a framework suitable for us,” said Chandrasekhar at the India Global Forum held in Dubai, UAE.

Speaking about the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill that is now open for consultations, the Minister said, “Protecting the digital rights of our citizens is an obligation of the Government. But we do not see this as a binary at the expense of slowing down the ecosystem for innovation that exists in India and in partnerships with other countries.”

He said the Government would not strongly regulate the internet but is committed to the principles of open, safe and trusted and accountable internet.