Fair data regime thrives only in democratic ecosystem, data imperialism unacceptable: Ravi Shankar Prasad

By Sahil Pandey, Joymala Bagchi
New Delhi [India], July 9 (ANI): Union Communications, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday said that a fair data regime thrives only in a democratic ecosystem and any kind of data imperialism is unacceptable.
He also said that Indian app economy is a huge economy and there is a need to get into the habit of uploading apps that are made in India.
The minister was addressing the audience during a discussion on 'Tech collaboration: Spurring innovation for global good' at India Global Week 2020.
"India has come with great innovations like-- Aadhar, UPI, Ayushman Bharat among others. The Indian app economy is a huge economy. We download a lot of apps, we must learn to upload apps made in India," he said.
The remarks came days after the government banned 59 China-linked apps in view of information available they "are engaged in activities prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".
The minister said more than 800 requests have come from the young people who are keen to make a good make in India app of global standards.
He said India has 26 start-ups which have become unicorns.
"Sharing of tech should be fair, balanced and to empower ordinary individuals. Let us keep the information highways intact and strong. A fair data regime thrives only in a democratic ecosystem and any kind of data imperialism is unacceptable," he said.
Prasad said COVID-19 will not impact the IT sector jobs though nature of work may change.
"They may be working from home but work goes on," he said.
The India Global Week 2020 is a three-day virtual conference which will conclude on July 11. The event has about 5,000 global participants from 30 nations with 75 sessions to be addressed by 250 global speakers. (ANI)