Harmonising the UK and India Data Protection Regime
Across the world, countries are trying to unlock the economic potential of data. Data accessibility, usability and availability will be key to doing so and, in this globalised world, enabling free flow of data across borders will be equally important.
The UK and India are two such countries that have been trying to unlock this potential at a larger scale. While the UK has a full fledged data protection law and a data protection authority, India is at the cusp of enacting a historic data protection law after years of deliberations.
Digital trade has been on the rise for both nations and is set to continue at pace in the future. To function effectively, it requires constant flow of data. A data transfers agreement between the two countries would therefore help to strengthen digital trade between India and the UK, as well as enable domestic and multinational companies to access data seamlessly.
The UK and India have the opportunity to work towards a data transfers framework that can enable seamless data flow to facilitate growth and innovation in both countries. Given that there are simultaneous discussions on a possible FTA between the two countries, it is an important moment to discuss and deliberate on the issues and opportunities for digital trade.
In this report, produced by The Dialogue and UKIBC, we highlight the importance of having an interoperable and harmonised data protection regime for India and the UK in order to facilitate the free flow of data and wider digital trade between our countries.
