With privacy becoming the fundamental rights and Joint Parliamentary committee examining the Personal Data Protection Bill, the data security, privacy and compliance have become critical for businesses and consumers. So, the government should encourage the private sector to set up data centres in the country, said a senior executive from Newgen Software.

“As data security, privacy and compliance become increasingly critical, the government should encourage the private sector to set up data centres in the country,” said Newgen managing director Diwakar Nigam, adding that the government should also continue its thrust towards initiatives such as Digital India, Skill India, Make in India and emphasize on technologies that encourage digitization and creation of rural e-infrastructure.

According to Nigam, the Indian IT sector provides significant opportunities for growth. The government can further incentivize organizations creating software intellectual property through tax exemption on IT exports. “We expect that the government would bring in more business-friendly policies and take steps to reduce regulatory compliance, thereby creating a holistic environment for ease of doing business,” he added.

On sustaining the global competitiveness of the Indian IT sector, he said it will require increased government investments in skill development for the new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, robotics, and blockchain.

“Reintroducing the SEZ scheme and streamlining the current SEZ processes, will give the required boost to the IT industry and provide a more conducive business environment,” said Nigan, adding that the labour laws governing the IT sector also require streamlining owing to its unique requirements.