India's data dilemma with India Stack

Description

India has seen multifold growth economically, technologically, and socially in the last couple of decades. Technology adaptation has ushered in a digital era that has given rise to new concerns around digital scams, data theft, eavesdropping, and cyberbullying, to name a few—all stemming from intrusion into individuals’ privacy. At the same time, rapid urbanization, digitization, and changing lifestyles have increased the expectation for protection and privacy of information they share on digital platforms.

India recently rolled out India Stack: a set of open APIs, including Aadhaar, UPI and eKYC, that enables digital services for a large chunk of the Indian population. There’s been an explosion of digital applications built on India Stack. Prominent examples include applications for the disbursal of government subsidies, digital payment, and digital signatures.

Sundeep Reddy Mallu explains, with on-the-ground examples, how businesses and citizens in India’s booming digital economy are navigating the India Stack ecosystem while dealing with data privacy, security, and ethics.

Topics include:

• A short overview of India Stack and its origins
• Examples of government and private companies making use of India Stack
• The benefits of India Stack for government and private companies
• How applications built on India Stack have caused harm to citizens and businesses
• Big data analytics and AI technologies used by governments
• The current state of data protection under law
• The lack of regulation and transparency in how technology is being adapted by government
• Insights from the recently conducted Data Protection Perception Survey
• How a group of independent like-minded volunteers are trying to push government for more transparency