Data sovereignty has become important, said Ravi Shankar Prasad (File)
Patna:
Data is an asset to a nation and should be used correctly to achieve prosperity, especially in sectors like health care, agriculture and education, said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Saturday.
With this in mind, the government has introduced a data protection law which is under review by the select committee of the parliament, he said.
Observing that data must be secure, Prasad said the government approved in the first week of December last year the Personal Data Protection Bill which will set out a framework for data processing personal, including their processing by public and private entities.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, who holds the Law and Justice, Electronics and Information and Communications Technology portfolios, delivered the Thakur Prasad Centennial Commemorative Lecture on “Data Confidentiality, Data Security and Data Sovereignty”.
The program was organized by an organization called Aatma Bodh. The late Thakur Prasad, a former leader of Jan Sangh who was a minister in Bihar in 1977, is the minister’s father.
“Data is a national asset. This great asset of data must be properly used, processed and value added for healthcare, agriculture and education. Therefore, not only ownership of the data, but also Data sovereignty becomes important, “said the Union Minister.
“If data is a good asset, it must be secured and entrusted to the sovereign power of a country. Therefore, we have brought in a data protection law which is being examined by the select committee of Parliament,” said M Prasad.
He said that digital India has today become a transformative program whereby ordinary Indians are empowered through technology.
“The great trinity JAM- Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile – has led to a transformation of governance, “he said.
The central government transferred almost Rs 11 lakh crore directly into the bank accounts of the poor as part of the direct benefit transfer system (DBT) and saved Rs 1.70 lakh crore which was once pocketed by bogus beneficiaries and intermediaries, said Prasad.
A digital ecosystem generates a lot of data and the vast size and population of India with 120 crore more mobile phones and almost 70 crore more internet users have become a new tool in the hands of the common man, a- he declared.
The Union Minister said that Aadhaar himself undertakes three crore authentications each day.
Platforms like e-stock market, e-hospitals, soil health card, GSTN, UPI, Ayushman Bharat are all revolutionary programs that have improved governance and delivery, added Mr. Prasad.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
