Drop Data Restrictions, India Tells EU

The Indian government is taking advantage of current trade talks with the EU to press for 'data secure' status for the country. Officials said India had made significant changes in its data protection laws and that restrictions - which limit the inflow of outsourcing work - should be lifted.

The EU's Data Protection Directive bans members from transferring personal data to a non-EU country unless that country has been classified as having adequate laws protecting privacy. India's status as a non-secure nation means that sensitive data, such as patient information, engineering design and intellectual property rights, cannot be transferred there. This can be worked around where contracts make strict stipulations about data handling, but Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO of independent self-regulatory organisation the Data Security Council of India, told www.indiatimes.com that these are onerous.

US outsourcers, by contrast, are not similarly restricted and are already sending 'high-end' data on subjects such as clinical trials, legal documents and drug discovery, and credit and equity analytics, for processing in India.