India in talks with UAE, others to set up data embassies

New Delhi is in talks with several countries to house so-called data embassies, which will allow them to store a copy of sovereign data here and retain control over it, three people aware of the matter said.

- Shouvik Das

New Delhi is in talks with several countries to house so-called data embassies, which will allow them to store a copy of sovereign data here and retain control over it, three people aware of the matter said. According to two of them, talks to set up the UAE's first data embassy in India are at an advanced stage.

India may create special zones in the country to house these data embassies, the people said on the condition of anonymity. The move comes at a time the country is strengthening its data privacy laws.

"The idea of a data embassy isn't new, and could require a new policy framework to operate. But, with the onset of the project, India is looking to create special strategic zones where data centres dedicated to sovereign data storage of multiple nations will be located. While India may engage in the safekeeping of the data, everything including privacy, handling and access will be handled by the embassy itself," one of the three people cited above said. These facilities will work just like the way consular divisions of embassies typically function.

Andhra Pradesh, home to Adani Group's data centre plans as well as the data centre infrastructure backed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), is expected to host the first data embassy, the people said.