10 ISSUES AND INSIGHTS NEW DELHI | MONDAY, 10 SEPTEMBER 2018 1 >

the requirement of the entire set of per- DPA may suggest model clauses for the sonal data collected to be mirrored in industry, but they need not be made > CHINESE WHISPERS At cross purposes? India sounds excessive. I’m not sure mandatory and require approvals. how my shopping history is critical for Let us not forget India has been one The draft Indian Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 appears to be in the security of India unless I am pur- of the biggest beneficiaries of global chasing guns to be brought in to India. data flows, making it the world’s largest A note of thanks conflict with the very ideas on which it is based If all countries start mandating local- destination for IT and outsourcing isation, there will be no cloud left. services. This has had a ripple effect, seeds of a global mindset in me. He was But the draft Bill works at cross purpos- Further, requiring data centres to be in causing private sector companies to light years ahead of most politicians then es with this thought process. India could increase costs, especially for employ millions of people and increas- and even today. It’s a little sad now; coun- Extra territorial applicability: The draft users and start-ups. They would stand to ing service exports multi-fold. Global tries are thinking backwards. The recent Bill makes the law applicable to offshore lose access to globally available resources data flows together have raised the proposed data localisation and control entities providing goods and services to and cloud infrastructure. Indian resi- world GDP by 10.1 per cent over what on data transfer is one such example. Indians. The Supreme Court of India has dents would also lose out on unique serv- may have resulted in a world without Data is now being touted as the “new recognised the validity of extra-territorial ices being provided by foreign compa- any cross-border data flows. If India oil”, and countries are trying to create provisions only when events outside the nies, such as DNA analysis or certain sets an example of putting artificial trade barriers based on data. Recently, I territory of India have some impact on kinds of artificial intelligence tasks. Some barriers on the basis of data, others will reviewed the proposed Indian Personal the interests, welfare or security of India of those entities may not have the where- reciprocate the same way. Manipur Director General of Police L M Data Protection Bill 2018 (draft Bill); or Indians. In short, there must be a rea- withal to localise their data in India. Over the last several decades, I have Khaute was full of praise for Delhi NISHITH DESAI especially the provisions on data local- sonable nexus not just peripheral. In this Data transfer: In the case of data witnessed the tussle between business- Police, especially its elite Special Cell isation, data transfer, and extra-territo- context, over-prescriptive extra-territori- transfer from India to abroad, one of the es wanting to globalise freely and coun- unit, in a recent letter written to Delhi rial applicability. In my view, they are al laws would not fall within this ambit. If alternatives the draft Bill provides is that tries trying to impose trade barriers. Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. inoba Bhave is one person to excessive when you take into account for any reason some countries require the Indian transferor can only use claus- Everyone recognises the end benefits In the letter, Khaute named several whom I would give singular cred- individual autonomy, the object sought some protection, international comity es approved by the Data Protection of minimising barriers, leading to sar- officers from the Cell and outlined Vit for my being what I am today — to be achieved and a sustainable digital requires that it would be preferable to Authority in its data transfer contracts. vodaya, but most don’t want to suffer how their co-operation has led to the — an international lawyer and a global- economy. The Srikrishna Committee, develop a treaty network on the lines of There will be thousands of legal agree- the temporary pains of the journey. I arrest of many alleged insurgents isation expert. When I was growing up in which drafted the report, has itself TRIPS, where countries arrive at mini- ments which will have to be approved. hope the draft bill is suitably modified to from the north eastern state. A special the 1960s, I heard him extolling the recognised that India should shape the mum protection benchmarks. This provision is taking us back to the effectuate the true tenor of the mention was a case where the Delhi Indian politicians: “15 years ago the slo- global digital landscape in the 21st cen- Data localisation: I agree that cer- licence raj. Rather, since the data fiduciary Srikrishna committee report. cops had helped their Manipur gan was ‘hail India’, today’s slogan is ‘hail tury, and that ensuring protection of tain critical data may be required to be in India is any case liable for violations, it counterparts in arresting a man whose the world’.” He always described him- personal data and facilitating growth of processed only within India, taking into should be left to the data fiduciary to The author is founder and managing alleged audio threat to the state chief self as a global citizen. That sowed the the digital economy are not in conflict. account security concerns. However, ensure compliance by foreign parties. The partner, Nishith Desai Associates minister went viral. While inter-state coordination among police forces is key in solving and preventing crime, the Special Cell, because of the anti- terror operations it carries out round the year, often has to venture way beyond the city borders which leads to A record of salutary economic reforms turf wars. This time, however, the case was different. Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's large heartedness and ability to transcend ideological barriers enabled him Sending feelers to implement far-reaching economic reforms, says the author in the first of a three-part series The Aam Aadmi Party is moving fast in ILLUSTRATION BY BINAY SINHA trying to put the Delhi unit of the Congress ment. Let me start with infrastructure. electricity minister, the late Rangarajan under pressure to agree to a seat Infrastructure Kumaramangalam, asked me as the adjustment for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The Vajpayee government undertook director general of NCAER to have the On Saturday, the AAP leadership requested major infrastructure initiatives and the act drafted. NCAER was reluctant, hav- former Bharatiya Janata Party leader transformation of Indian roads can be ing no expertise in drafting legislation. Yashwant Sinha to contest from the New attributed to him, as a number of com- This was a bold departure from standard Delhi constituency. Sinha currently leads mentators have noted. The National practice where almost all acts of drafted the 'National Forum'. There are leaders, Highway Development Project (NHDP), within the government. But Minister both in the AAP as well as the Congress, which began with the conceptualisation Kumaramangalam felt that his min- who believe the two parties will lose all of the Golden Quadrilateral and the istry’s bureaucracy was unwilling and the seven seats in Delhi in a three- north-south and east-west highways, has incapable of an exercise that would cornered fight against the BJP. The AAP is already transformed the Indian trans- result in significant reform, and insisted keen to field credible faces to force the RAKESH MOHAN portation sector. Investment in this on NCAER taking up the exercise. We Congress to agree on a seat adjustment. expanded highway programme contin- took up the challenge, with the help of ues till today. As a complementary ini- in order to just capture the available the issue of allotting licences for new pri- the redoubtable Gajendra Haldea who ormer Prime Minister Atal Bihari tiative, the Prime Minister’s Gram Sadak licences. It had become obvious that vate sector landline companies arose. conducted extensive consultations with Vajpayee, who passed away two Yojana (PMGSY) was also started almost these companies would not be able to Whereas the majority of the Authority all stakeholders and submitted a draft to Remembering veterans Fweeks ago, was noted by his friends at the same time. Thus the needs of the pay their committed obligations: if the voted to again recommend an auction the ministry in less than two years. The Bharatiya Janata Party held its and political foes alike for his large heart- metropolitan national as well as the local government had insisted that they com- for these new licences I issued a dissent Unfortunately, Kumaramangalam national executive meeting over the edness and ability to transcend ideolog- rural economy were addressed simulta- ply with their commitments they would note arguing for a fixed license fee and passed away suddenly after a brief unex- weekend in New Delhi. With former ical barriers across the political spectrum. neously. Both these ambitious pro- have gone bankrupt and the progress of allotment of many licences so that the pected illness, but was ably succeeded by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee It was these qualities, perhaps, that grammes could be undertaken simulta- telecom connectivity would have suf- new tariffs would not be burdened by the Suresh Prabhu who piloted the Bill suc- having passed away less than a enabled him to carry out far-reaching neously because they were financed by fered a severe setback. So the govern- obligation of these new companies to pay cessfully and got it passed in Parliament month back, the leitmotif of the economic reforms. Such reforms could the bold decision to introduce a fuel cess. ment was faced with a conundrum: re- off high licence fees. Vajpayee’s Prime in 2003 after a lengthy consultative meeting was recalling his not have been implemented successful- Without the cess, funding of these contract with the same companies, Minister’s office happened to agree with process across party lines and many contribution to the party as well as ly without achieving the kind of broad investment programmes would not have giving rise to obvious moral hazard, or my dissent note and that was the policy shades of expert opinion. Among other nation building. The road leading up consensus that he always sought across been available. Perhaps coincidentally, restart the telecom allocation process to adopted. This was perhaps the root of far reaching provisions, this Act sub- to the venue had huge hoardings party lines, since his party did not enjoy the infrastructure committee that I had new companies and set back the tele- the later first-come–first-served policy sumed the earlier legislation that had with Vajpayee's pictures. Other senior an absolute majority at any time during chaired had recommended such a cess com rollout. The actual bold solution with which the UPA I government ran established electricity regulatory com- leaders, particularly his prime ministership. as the source of a non-lapsable fund for implemented was to shift to a revenue into great trouble in the 2G spectrum allo- missions at both the central and state L K Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, I did not have the privilege of know- this purpose. Earmarking tax revenues sharing framework with the same com- cation process. The subsequent adoption levels. This was yet another example of have largely been forgotten by the ing Prime Minister Vajpayee personally for any purpose is against normal fiscal panies: it is a measure of Vajpayee’s polit- of auction processes for spectrum allo- farsightedness and cross party consul- party after having been placed in the although I was appointed to a whole orthodoxy: I had argued that the cess ical skills that this could be done very cation, once again, has resulted in exces- tations which resulted in the enactment 'margdarshak mandal', or mentors' host of positions by him, including, was really a user charge, and that won smoothly without any accusations of sively high bids which are now resulting of forward looking legislation that could group, of the party. Even after four among others, chief economic advisor the day against the fiscal purists. corruption and wrongdoing. The result in significant difficulties for the spec- modernise the Indian electricity sector. years of it having been set up, the to the finance ministry and deputy gov- Similarly, a number of commenta- is now obvious with telecom being the trum winners in the form of high debts, Although the intentions of the Act have group hasn't held even a single ernor in the Reserve Bank of India. tors have recalled the very significant most successful infrastructure story: which are also inhibiting new infra- not been fully realised, it will remain a meeting. But with the party Having chaired the expert committee telecom reform carried out by Vajpayee’s tele-density in India now exceeds 90 per- structure investment in the sector. landmark legislation in the Indian infra- remembering Vajpayee, it also on infrastructure in the mid-1990s I was government. Ironically, the problem that cent, something that we could not even The Vajpayee government initiated structure sector for decades to come. ‘remembered’ Advani and Joshi. also associated with a number of initia- occurred in the late 1990s was not dis- dream of at the turn of the century. broad electricity reform with enactment (To be continued) Hoardings with their photographs tives carried out in the infrastructure similar to some of the problems in recent Membership of the TRAI, among the of the new Electricity Act 2003 which rivalled for space with those of Prime sector by his government. In this piece years. In the initial auction for mobile various appointments that Vajpayee had replaced an almost hundred-year-old The author is senior fellow, Jackson Institute Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief I sketch out the broad sweep of eco- telephony, a number of companies had bestowed on me, allows me to add a foot- 1910 Act. I was somewhat associated for Global Affairs, Yale University; and Amit Shah. nomic reforms carried out his govern- bid clearly unrealistically high amounts note to the story. Just after this episode, with this reform as well since the then distinguished fellow, Brookings India.

AS I SEE IT > LETTERS

A Gandhi apology matters A trusted option government mandated “universalisation” of the Aadhaar Card Scheme that grossly Rahul Gandhi should have apologised for the Sikh killings of 1984 when the Apropos “Post office hopes” (September 7); interferes with our day to day lives. Congress party was in power and redeemed himself somewhat I want to compliment the government and S K Gupta New Delhi India Post for launching the much antici- condoning the massacre but he cer- their behalf. pated Payments Bank. People in small Recover bad assets tainly ended up minimising it. His So what should Rahul Gandhi have towns and villages in particular stand to attempt was to make it seem under- said to carry credibility and convey he gain from this. No bank — public or private This refers to the report “Panel wants standable. In the process, Congress and was fully aware of and also accepted — has this kind of a network and a ready easy capital adequacy norms for PSBs” its prime minister refused to accept the enormity of what had happened? workforce of more than 3,00,000 trained (September 7). The State-owned banks moral responsibility even if they did not It’s not hard to devise a form of words postmen. A postman in the rural areas is are incurring losses and hence facing actually disown it. he could have spoken. Let me offer not just someone who brings letters for the threat of losing credibility. It is a well- What most people have forgotten is a version. the people; he is also a trusted friend. known fact that the diminishing or neg- how the Congress election campaign “The Sikh killing of 1984 was a hor- Of course, there are many hurdles to ative returns that banks are manifesting sought to take advantage of the anti- rible tragedy for which my party, overcome but then which new scheme fake Aadhaar cards. are due to the slow resolution of the Sikh mood of the period. I vividly through former Prime Minister Dr. does not face trouble in the beginning? As The report of the Justice B N Srikrishna stressed and bad assets, and it is affect- KARAN THAPAR recall newspaper advertisements Manmohan Singh, has formally apol- you have mentioned, “many rural con- Committee on data protection in India — ing the banking sector and the whole which played upon the antipathy for ogised in Parliament. But I accept that sumers will continue to prefer human or categorically suggesting amendments to economy. The topmost priority for the Sikhs. “Are you scared the border no apology can be sufficient. Certain physical interaction with a bank to the various laws, including the Aadhaar Act, to banks should be a swift resolution and t’s shameful that nearly 35 years could move to your doorstep?”, was individual members of the Congress digital-first approach”. Add to this the fact provide for imposition of penalties on data recovery of the bad assets and improving after the Sikh killings of 1984, the one. “Are you scared of the taxi driver party face cases in court and it would that the trusted postman is like one of their fiduciaries for violations of the data pro- the quality of the loans and advances. ICongress party has not found a sen- at night?”, was another. At the time be wrong for me to comment on those. own and the combination would mean tection law — speaks volumes about the Remission in the capital require- sible and truthful way of talking about most taxi drivers in Delhi were But even if individual Congressmen they don’t worry about being cheated by real story. Significantly, even the Unique ments, to the extent possible, would this event. Alongside the Emergency, thought to be Sikh. were involved the party itself was not. middlemen and touts who offer their serv- Identification Authority of India was com- enable the banks to expand their loan it’s the lowest point in the party’s his- As far as I know, Rajiv Gandhi never Yet the killings happened when ices for getting the simple folk money from pelled to come out with the cautionary book, profitability and related financial tory. Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments apologised for his ‘big tree’ analogy nor Congress was in power and my father banks. With 170 million customers advice to the public at large aimed at effec- ratios. This support will help those banks in London confirm the impression it’s did his party express regret for the was Prime Minister. Though I was only (already) of the post office savings system, tively safeguarding their respective which are under a prompt corrective at a loss. advertisements. Perhaps they felt their a school boy at the time, the Congress the Payments Bank brings tremendous Aadhaar based data. action plan to deliver better results. His statement that Congress was not overwhelming victory exonerated party’s leadership always has and sense of security because they are deal- However, all our hopes, on this con- V S K Pillai Kottayam involved is only narrowly and techni- them. What compounded matters was always will accept full moral responsi- ing with a sarakari institution and not troversial, yet highly emotive, issue are cally correct. It ignores the bigger ques- that two men who were widely thought bility. No one has or will run away from some new bank or a micro-finance set up. currently pinned at the final verdict of the tion of moral responsibility. Meanwhile, to be guilty found places of honour in this. But is the BJP willing to take a With a little tweaking of RBI’s rules, Apex Court that is expected any time, Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to: the claim Congress was not involved Rajiv Gandhi's government. This was similar stand over the Gujarat mas- this scheme is bound to become popular more so when Chief Justice of India Dipak The Editor, Business Standard hinges on the fact we’re not aware of despite loud calls they should be left sacre of 2002? The Prime Minister was and sustainable. Misra, who is heading the relevant Bench, Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg New Delhi 110 002 instructions handed down by the party out. H K L Bhagat was made a cabinet chief minister at the time but when Krishan Kalra Gurugram completes his tenure on October 2. Who Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: [email protected] leadership to carry out the pogrom. minister and Jagdish Tytler, a minister questioned in interviews his response knows, the SC may also come to the rescue All letters must have a postal address and telephone Three and a half decades is long enough of state. Once again, the message was is to get up and walk away. Finally, an Data matrix of the common man by striking down the number to establish this point. clear. Rajiv Gandhi was either oblivious election victory does not erase the past However, what Rahul Gandhi over- of or unconcerned by the damning alle- but it's worth remembering that the Apropos “Can’t abuse data to impact free looked is the way the Congress party gations they faced. Congress party has won three elections choice in India: Ravi Shankar Prasad” > HAMBONE BY MIKE FLANAGAN sought to explain, excuse and even There’s no doubt Manmohan Singh, in Punjab since 1984 and presently has (September 8); the government’s firm rationalise the killings and the advan- as Prime Minister, formally apologised a two-thirds majority in the state.” stand on data privacy and against online tage it took of the anti-Sikh mood of the in Parliament. He said his head hangs in If I can think of what Rahul Gandhi platforms abusing data to impact free period which, of course, culminated in shame. He could not have been more should have said I’m surprised he could choice in India should be appreciated by the killings. fulsome and explicit. But given the fact not himself. The problem is that we all the stakeholders. But, the fact still Rajiv Gandhi’s statement that when Congress is a Gandhi-led and dominat- don’t know how to say sorry. We don’t remains that despite the government's tall a big tree falls the ground will shake was ed party what the mother and son have realise that an apology is also an act of claims about putting in place some fool- undoubtedly an attempt to explain, to say will always matter more. They redemption. Pride and prestige prevent proof mechanism to ensure the safety and excuse and rationalise what had hap- are believed to articulate Congress’ real us. Consequently, events that could be security thereof, the nation has been wit- pened. I won’t go so far as to say he was response. No third person can do it on laid to rest continue to rankle. nessing several unsavoury instances, including the detection of multiple and/or