'Digital platform should be safe and secure for economy to succeed' says Ravi Shankar Prasad

New Delhi, July 23: "For the digital economy to succeed, it is very important that digital platform is safe and secure", Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad has said while addressing G20 Digital Minister's meeting on Wednesday. This meeting was part of the Sherpa Track for the G20 Leaders Summit 2020, hosted by Saudi Arabia.

 

 

 

Highlighting the use of digital technologies, the Minister emphasized the data related issues and the sovereign rights of countries to protect data privacy and security of its citizens, saying that data must belong to the sovereign nation concerned to protect the privacy and digital concerns of its people. Data is very important for the growth of the digital economy and there is a need to balance different aspects such as innovation, enterprise & safety regarding this.

 

 

Further, he told that it is time to acknowledge that digital platforms anywhere in the world have to be responsive and accountable towards the sovereign concerns of countries including defense, privacy, and security of citizens "A trustworthy AI can never emerge unless there is a trustworthy digital ecosystem. Therefore, data safety and security, and a safe cyber environment are very important issues. And we as India strongly comment in G20 meet that data safety and security and safe cyber must remain in focus then the ecosystem will become trustworthy," he said.

 

The Minister also added that India is soon going to put in place a robust personal data protection law that will address the data privacy-related concerns and ensure the availability of data for innovation. Besides, he emphasized the need for building trustworthy Artificial Intelligence systems that can transform society.

 

Prasad also told the global gathering about how India under the leadership of the Prime Minister has managed the COVID-19 crisis far better than many other countries. The bold decision of the Prime Minister to go for an early nationwide lockdown helped in the country in curbing the spread of the virus as well as prepare for the upcoming challenges effectively.

 

Prasad strongly stressed the need for building a resilient global supply chain and shared the vision of Prime Minister of India for making India an attractive destination for investment closely integrated with global supply chains. He asserted that during its fight against COVID19, India’s digital innovations that helped in the fight against COVID19. He spoke about initiatives like Aarogya Setu mobile app, the geofencing system for monitoring quarantined patients, and the COVID19 Savdhan bulk messaging systems during this meeting.

 

On the other hand, this was the first time digital ministers of India and China attended the meeting virtually since India imposed a ban on 59 Chinese apps including Tik-Tok over national security concerns.