Nasscom flags concerns over data localisation

Curbs on data transfer outside India inconsistent with the spirit and objectives of the Act, says the IT industry body

- UMA KANNAN @ Bengaluru

TECH industry apex body Nasscom on Thursday said the new proposal in the draft Rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act to restrict transfer of personal data outside India "appears to be inconsistent with the spirit and the objectives of the Act and should be reconsidered."

In its feedback on the draft Rules under the DPDP Act, which was published by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) in January 2025, Nasscom said the proposal, as it stands, risks causing unintended uncertainty on international data transfers. "Moreover, the ability of such a restriction to afford meaningful additional safeguards to the processing of personal data, remains at best questionable... even with a careful reading of the Act, the industry could not envisage that the proposal to restrict transfer of personal data by Significant Data Fiduciaries was possible in this manner," it said.