Regulating a Digital Economy

UpFront Blog: Regulating a Digital Economy: An Indian Perspective

The world is experiencing unprecedented increases in connectivity and global data flows, much of it centred in the Asia-Pacific region. Internet access and maximising cross-border data flows is leading to increased productivity, economic growth and new opportunities for international trade. The economic opportunities from technologies such as cloud computing, big data and the internet of things are also not limited to the IT sector but are economy-wide, including in sectors such as manufacturing and agriculture. India stands to gain from going digital – with scope to create 1.5-2 million more jobs this year and to contribute to $550 billion-$1 trillion to its GDP by 2025. However, governments across Asia are adopting data localisation requirements that restrict cross-border data flows. In many cases, however, there remain ways to achieve these goals with less impact on data flows, economic growth and trade.

Speaker: Joshua P. Meltzer, Senior Fellow, Global Economy & Development, Brookings Institution, Washington D.C.

Joshua’s comments at the discussion were covered in The Quint, Bloomberg, Times of India, Hindustan Times, Economic Times, Business Standard, Mint, Financial Express, The Print and several other media outlets. His interview also featured in the Times of India.

Discussants:

1. Avik Sarkar, OSD Data analytics cell, NITI Aayog
2. Mudit Kapoor, Associate Professor of Economics at the Indian Statistical Institute
3. Asoke Mukerji, former Indian diplomat

Development Seminars Series @ Brookings India

The Development Seminars Series @ Brookings India is a platform for global scholars to present their work to a curated audience of senior government officials, politicians, journalists, academics and policy enthusiasts. The format of the seminars includes a senior researcher as a lead presenter and a government/industry expert to discuss the results and relevance within the Indian context. The fundamental focus of the seminar series is to draw research-based insights to shape and influence policy dialogues in India, through purposeful and pointed discussions.

Previous Development Seminar Series Photographs

Previous Development Seminars

• The brave new world of low inflation, with Surjit Bhalla and Sajid Chinoy
• Digital India sounds lovely, but do you trust the digital planet?, with Bhaskar Chakravorti
• Who benefits from college and the stock market?
• Indian migration to the United States, with Neil G. Ruiz
• The real effects of unconventional monetary policy, with Viral Acharya
• Immigration and its discontents, with Neeraj Kaushal
• America’s economic anxiety, with Jonathan Murdoch
• Using technology to strengthen democracy, with Shamika Ravi and S.Y. Quraishi
• The online education revolution and India, with Alex Tabarrok
• Environmental challenges in India, with E. Somanathan
• Corporate social responsibility in India: Law, implementation and evidence, with Shivaram Rajgopal
• Pathways to reducing poverty and sharing prosperity in India, with Rinku Murgai
• Launch of paper ‘Building Smart Cities in India’, with Shamika Ravi and Amitabh Kant
• D. Subbarao on leading the RBI through 5 turbulent years
• Disguised corruption: Evidence from consumer credit in China, with Sumit Agarwal
• Transporting India to the 2030s by Rakesh Mohan