London [UK], July 25 : Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal reassured that the India-UK Free Trade Agreement does not compromise data protections, asserting that India has a "clear position" on securing its data provisions in every way.
Bharti Enterprises Chairman said that the country is uniquely positioned to ensure secure data exchanges only with trusted partners.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Bharti Enterprises Chairman said, "In today's world, data movement is one of the most important issues in the trade, and services. And given India's advantage in digital connectivity now, which is not only at par with the world but perhaps in certain cases ahead of the world in its availability of data, the pricing, and the consumption patterns that you see, India has a very, very clear position."
"India has a very, very clear position. It wants to exchange data only with trusted partners, trusted countries. And these kinds of FTAs help in establishing those relationships," he added.
India's data localisation requirements, including the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, will ensure robust security for Indian data, Mittal said.
Discussing Starlink's partnership with his company, Mittal addressed potential concerns about satellite internet in crisis scenarios, such as internet shutdowns in conflict zones like Manipur.
He clarified that, should such disruptions occur, the Indian government would have the authority to order the shutdown of services from licensed operators.
"They (Indian Government) will have to immediately make a request to the people who have been licensed (with Starlink) in India and they'll be duty bound to follow the law of the land, absolutely. I mean tomorrow, if we are operating OneWeb in India and if there are directions for us to shut the services, we will have no other recourse but to do that. I mean, you are operating under the license GMPCS (Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite) given by the DOT. So you have to stay within those norms," Mittal stated.
The much-awaited landmark India-UK Free Trade Agreement was signed on Thursday, in the presence of Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Keir Starmer, providing greater access to goods and services between the two countries.
On May 6, Prime Minister Modi and his UK counterpart, Keir Starmer, announced the successful conclusion of a mutually beneficial India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The idea behind the trade deal is to eliminate or reduce tariffs on imports and exports between the two nations. This should make Indian products competitive in the UK and vice versa.
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