The United Kingdom (UK) and India are two countries that are trying to unlock the economic potential of data on a larger scale. Although the benefits that can be derived from data transfers are plenty, governments have been historically concerned with the privacy and security implications of such transfers in the absence of protection frameworks and regulated mechanisms. 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.
Against this backdrop, in this report, 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. The report provides background and a short introduction to the data protection regimes in the UK and India and delves into interoperability and its advantages. The report also highlights the potential roadblocks to a data transfer agreement between the UK and India and provides a way forward to deliver an interoperable regime.
This report is timely and bolsters the recent India-UK FTA negotiations, which present both governments with an opportunity to create a data transfer framework that can enable a seamless flow of data to facilitate economic growth and innovation in both countries.
Authored by: Ayush Tripathi, Kamesh Shekar, Karthik Venkatesh, Meghna Misra-Elder
Editor: Kazim Rizvi
Research Assistance: Bhavya Birla
Designed by: Divya Vishwanathan, Diksha Kumari
