The Centre may soon form rules for sharing of non-personal data under the aegis of soon-to-be-launched digital India law that rules could include pricing for sharing anonymised data sets and provisions for free government access to boost efficiency of the government’s welfare schemes, a report in the Hindustan Times said.
An official knowledgeable of the matter told HT that "the idea is to have a free flow of anonymised data sets." A non-personal piece of data can be any information that does not reveal any details of a person's identity.
The official also reportedly said that the electronics and IT ministry will also comb through the rules finely so as to ensure there is limited sharing of the available data.
The provision of adding non-personal data in the data protection law was recommended by the joint parliamentary committee (JPC) which examined the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.
The JPC tabled its report on the personal data law in December 2021 and at the same time, the Centre also considered separate legislation for non-personal data, the task for which was given to former Infosys CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan in 2020 to work on the regulatory structure.
India has so far no policy to govern non-personal data and the national data governance framework and policy is a draft at this point. The draft will likely make set protocols and standards for how government institutions will process, store and share data within the larger government ecosystem to 'boost development', the report added.
Published 26 February 2023, 14:19 IST