Manish Sehgal opened his presentation with a question: “Does India understand privacy?” Quoting the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), he said India loses global opportunities due its weak protocols and the fear global companies have of potential data breaches.

Sehgal provided an introduction to the legal framework of data protection in India and the European Union. He spoke about the draft legislation in India, the Personal Data Protection Bill, which has opened a new debate on whether India must insist that global companies store their data in India.

According to Sehgal, people are the weakest link when it comes to upholding data privacy, especially in India. A change in mindset is required to enable India to keep up with the world when it comes to data protection.

Going by the number of questions that delegates posed to the speaker, this was clearly a hot topic among delegates.

MANISH SEHGAL,
partner – Risk Advisory Deloitte Touche
Tohmatsu India LLP