Expect a torrid pace of policy action in our tech space

News:  In 2022, the tech policy space is going to witness a number of new regulations across a number of areas.

Over the past year-and-a-half, the government has undertaken a number of bold and progressive regulatory reforms. We need to ensure that there is no let-up in the pace and progressive approach to regulatory reforms, especially in the tech space.

What were the recent reforms/steps taken in the tech policy space?

Personal data protection Bill: The Joint Parliamentary Committee has submitted its report, and, even though there is some dissent, the bill is on track to becoming a law.

Replacing the Other Service Providers regime with a more benign framework.

Opening up map-making

Enacting new, industry-friendly drone regulations.

Account Aggregator ecosystem for lending. As more banks and financial institutions come on board, many innovative lending products will enter the market.

Launch of the health ID and the establishment of registries for healthcare professionals.

What more reforms are required? 

One, the government can establish an easy-to-use framework that enables companies to generate valid, electronically-signed contracts. It would help to significantly streamline a major business bottleneck.

Two, measures should be taken to make it possible to pay stamp duty digitally and electronically register documents that need registration. It will radically simplify business processes, resulting in cost and time savings.

Three, by encouraging mediation and enabling online dispute resolution, the government could make our judicial system much more efficient. It will help in diverting the most contentious disputes away from the courts.

Four, integration of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) into the administrative machinery of courts, will allow us to pay court fees digitally, resulting in more streamlined processes and greater accountability.

Finally, need to ensure that the digital systems reference a common, standardized data taxonomy. It will enable us to use data to provide insight into how the system can be improved.

What further developments are expected in the technology space in 2022?

Re-imagining digital commerce. With all the building blocks are in place; such as robust payment infrastructure, delivery and fulfillment capabilities, and a large mobile-first consumer base. There will be significant progress in building this new paradigm over the year

Crypto Assets:  With more effort being invested into integrating these technologies into the mainstream, there will be more activity in this space. India is also more likely to enact some sort of regulatory framework for crypto that will establish an enabling environment for crypto in the country.

Web 3.0 and Metaverse: Though no clarity exists on these technologies, their arrival is imminent.

Greater global cooperation between like-minded countries: With more and more countries having begun to realize the value of developing population-scale data-sharing systems. There will be global cooperation to agree on a set of common principles that will guide the development of these systems.

Source: This post is based on the article “Expect a torrid pace of policy action in our tech space” published in Live Mint on 5^th   Jan 2022.