DRAFT E-COMMERCE POLICY

The Department of Industry and Internal Trade has released the draft National e-commerce Policy. The primary focus of the draft policy is centralisation of data arising in India and promotion of its use for the country’s development.

It sends a clear message that India and its citizens have a sovereign right to their data, with emphasis on securing data arising in India and treating it as a ‘national asset’. The policy makes a strong case for championing ‘Indian’ online enterprise and may have major implications for foreign-owned ecommerce majors operating in India.
E-commerce – E-commerce means buying and selling of goods and services including digital products over digital & electronic network. E-commerce business have two models:
  • Inventory based model of e-commerce- Inventory based model of e-commerce means an e-commerce activity where inventory of goods and services is owned by e-commerce entity and is sold to the consumers directly.
  • Marketplace based model of e-commerce- Marketplace based model of e-commerce means providing of an information technology platform by an e-commerce entity on a digital & electronic network to act as a facilitator between buyer and seller.

Key features of the draft:

  1. Restrictions on Cross border flow of Data: The data that is collected by ‘Internet of Things(IoT)’ devices installed in public space and data generated by users in India from various sources, including e-commerce platforms, social media, search engines etc. The draft restricts sharing of sensitive data which has been collected or processed in India and stored abroad to other business entities outside India or third parties even with the customer consent. Such data cannot be made available to a foreign government, without the prior permission of Indian authorities and immediate access to all such data is to be given to Indian authorities upon request.
    The issue is that these restrictions seek to exercise sovereignty over data and has been termed as a highly protectionist move.
    While the implications of such a law could have widespread effects on the way tech giants such as Google, Facebook, Amazon, Walmart and several conduct business here, the proposed policy does not explain how the government plans to implement these changes.
  2. Establishment of Data Authority: It will be set up along with a suitable framework for sharing of community data that serves ‘larger public interest’.
Location: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Geneva Convention 1949

Image
Why is it in news? Pakistan violated the Geneva Convention What is Geneva Conventions? The Geneva Conventions are a series of treaties on the treatment of civilians, prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers. It is also known as the Humanitarian Law of Armed Conflicts. It was adopted in 1949. It includes four conventions, with three protocols added on since 1949. Their purpose is to provide minimum protections, standards of humane treatment, and fundamental guarantees of respect to individuals who become victims of armed conflicts. These Conventions and their Additional Protocols set out how soldiers and civilians should be treated during armed conflict. What are the four conventions? Convention I: This convention protects wounded soldiers and ensures humane treatment without discrimination based on race, colour, sex, religion or faith, birth or wealth, etc. The convention prohibits torture, assaults upon personal dignity, and execution without judgment. It also grants the ri...
Read more

Collegium controversy

Image
Recent issue The controversial collegium system of judicial appointments is under public scrutiny once again. The collegium’s unusual action of revisiting decisions made at an earlier meeting, and recommending the elevation to the apex court of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, instead of two judges whose names had been considered earlier is the issues recently surfaced. The allegation is not merely one concerning the seniority or the lack of it of the two appointees; rather, it is the much graver charge of arbitrarily revoking a decision made on December 12 last year. The appointment of Sanjiv Khanna to the Supreme Court on saw controversy as former Delhi High Court judge Kailash Gambhir wrote to the President objecting to the move since it “superseded almost 32 judges”. There is no communication from the Supreme Court on why it scrapped its decision of December 12 and went with the choices it did. The lack of clarity shines a spotlight on the opaque collegi...
Read more

Reservation for Economically Weaker Sections

Image
Context: The President recently gave assent to The Constitution (103rd Amendment) Act, 2019 (124th Constitution Amendment Bill) to provide 10% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions to the economically weaker sections (EWS) among those who are not covered under any reservation plan. Key features of the amendment: The Act amends Article 15 to enable the government to take special measures (not limited to reservations) for the advancement of “economically weaker sections” (EWS). Upto 10% of seats may be reserved for such sections for admission in educational institutions. Such reservation will not apply to minority educational institutions. The amendment adds Article 16(6) which permits the government to reserve up to 10% of all posts for the “economically weaker sections” of citizens. The reservation of up to 10% for the EWS will be in addition to the existing reservation cap of 50% reservation for SC, ST and OBCs. The central government will notify...
Read more