Govt set to unveil separate norms for data protection

NEW DELHI: With the ordinance on patent (third amendment) out of the way, the government is all set to come out with a separate legislation for data protection.

“We will bring in a separate legislation for data protection. It would be a holistic piece of legislation,� commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said.

He said the government would look into the need for data protection of all sectors before bringing in the legislation. He sought to allay fears of a rise in prices of medicines, saying such fears were unfounded.

The government also sought to allay apprehensions that the focus on greater market access for Indian goods, investment and services via bilateral, regional and multilateral trade agreements would compromise on providing a level playing field for the domestic industry.

Mr Nath said about 97% of the drugs were off-patent. He added that the Drug Price Control Order was not just for compliance. He said domestic pharmaceutical industry exports were pegged at Rs 1,400 crore, with a compounded annual growth rate of 30%.

Asked about dropping virtual SEZs from the proposed Special Economic Zones legislation, he said, “The government is trying to find a formulation to give export-oriented units (EOUs) this flexibility�.

Mr Nath said he favoured making the duty neutralisation and export promotion schemes more effective and was prepared to look into the bottlenecks faced by exporters. He was speaking at the 77th Ficci AGM.