RIL president Mukesh Ambani-Business News, Firstpost

Bombay: Amid a raging debate over the whereabouts of data, richest Indian Mukesh Ambani said on Wednesday that “data colonization” is as bad as previous forms of colonization and India’s data should be controlled and owned by Indians.

Speaking at the Mumbai Republic summit, Ambani, chairman of telecommunications energy conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd, said that an individual’s or a company’s data belongs to them and not to the companies that may have it. use to monetize them.

“In this new world, data is the new oil. And data is the new wealth. India‘s data must be controlled and owned by Indians and not by corporations, especially global corporations,” a- he declared.

Throwing his weight behind Indian authorities looking for companies to store data locally, he said the Supreme Court has demanded data privacy be sacrosanct.

“Therefore, for India to succeed in this data-driven revolution, the necessary steps will need to be taken to migrate control and ownership of data from India to India – in other words, Indian wealth to India. India, ”he said. “Data colonization is as bad as previous forms of colonization.”

Data freedom, he said, is as precious as the freedom won in 1947.

The government wants companies doing business in India to store all customer data locally. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in April ordered companies to store “all data relating to the payment systems they operate (…)”

Companies like Google had complained about the six-month delay.

The government is also considering a data security bill that requires all companies’ data centers to be physically located in India. An e-commerce policy that requires the storage of customer data in India is also under consideration.

“Fundamentally, I firmly believe in the power of all of us together rather than the power of a few. I think this will differentiate China and India in the long run. My belief is that a decentralized and autonomous world where everyone is world is equal is better than where few people are in power. This is true for the data world, “he said.

Ambani said the world will have to move from an aggregator model to a distributor model as he supports those who advocate to prevent foreign companies from repatriating and making money from Indian consumer data.

“What is important is that an Indian’s data belongs to him. It does not belong to any company, whether Indian or global. The only right the company has is just like a bank if i give you a fixed deposit locker and you put your money. which is your data in my locker it doesn’t become mine as i take this money and play in the stock market. it doesn’t work like that “, a- he declared.

Basically, he said, the data belongs to the individual. “If I use or monetize it in any way, I have to share the earnings with you transparently,” he said. “I am very committed to data ownership and how the data should be monetized for each entity. This is true for individuals, small traders, small stores, small businesses and large businesses. Even my business data should be my own data. “

(Disclosure – Reliance Industries Ltd. is the sole beneficiary of Independent Media Trust which controls Network18 Media & Investments Ltd.)