India explores setting up data embassy in UAE, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• India and UAE plan to establish data embassies in each other's territories, marking a first for India.
• A data embassy is an offshore center for storing critical digital data to ensure digital continuity and sovereignty.
• The stored data will include crucial financial data and public records, accessible only to the home country.
• Estonia established the world's first data embassy in 2017 with Luxembourg, followed by Monaco in 2021.
• India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is formulating a policy to allow countries to establish data embassies within India.

Detailed Insights:

• Data embassies aim to maintain essential services by providing backups of crucial databases in a trusted host nation, even if the physical territory is inaccessible.
• These embassies operate under the host country's laws, but the home country retains access and control over its data, which is protected from the host country's jurisdiction.
• The decision to set up data centers reflects the high level of trust between India and the UAE.
• The concept requires a regulatory framework to address sovereignty-related issues associated with data.
• The Indian government proposed data embassies in the 2023-24 Budget to facilitate seamless digital transfers and continuity for other nations.
• The proposed policy by MeitY is expected to offer diplomatic immunity to the data stored within these embassies, shielding it from Indian regulations.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Data Embassy: An offshore center where a nation stores critical digital data for digital continuity and sovereignty.
• Digital Sovereignty: A nation's authority to control and protect its digital assets and infrastructure.
• Diplomatic Immunity: Protection from the host country's laws and regulations, granted to diplomatic missions and their data.