Union Budget 2023-24: Government To Launch National Data Governance Policy

SUMMARY

The policy is aimed at enabling access to anonymised data: FM Sitharaman

The National Data Governance Policy will also unleash innovation by startups and academia, the finance minister said

Sitharaman also announced that three Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for artificial intelligence will be set up to enable 'Make AI for India' and 'Make AI work for India'

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech announced that the government will launch a National Data Governance Policy to enable access to anonymised data.

The National Data Governance Policy will also unleash innovation by startups and academia, Sitharaman said while presenting Union Budget 2023-24.

It must be noted that the government introduced the draft National Data Governance Framework Policy last year to ensure that non-personal data and anonymized data from both government and private entities are safely accessible to the research and innovation ecosystem.

The draft National Data Governance Framework Policy, released last year, also proposed establishment of India Data Management Office (IDMO) to oversee the formulation of all specific standards and guidelines on all aspects of data storage and data anonymisation.

Besides, the minister also said that the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process will be simplified, and a risk-based approach will be adopted instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Among other important announcements for boosting digital economy and technological advancements, Sitharaman announced that three Centres of Excellence (CoE) for artificial intelligence will be set up to enable ‘Make AI for India’ and ‘Make AI work for India’.

It must be noted that in December last year, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the Indian government will soon begin collecting large sets of anonymised databases under the National Data Governance Framework Policy.

“As we speak, the Indian government will soon begin to assemble large sets of anonymised dataset, collected and armoured under our National Data Governance Framework Policy,” the minister said at the G-20 Development Working Group event in Mumbai.

The government has been pushing new policies around data regulation lately. In a recent G20 Presidency working group meeting, India recommended promoting institutions like the National Data Analytics Platform and Data Governance Quality Index.

The data quality and governance practice announcement at G20, came shortly after the Indian government unveiled the draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill