RBI Deputy Governor suggests how monetisation of customer data can be done in responsible manner

Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor T Rabi Sankar on Monday pressed for a law to protect customers' privacy to ensure that monetization of customer data is done in a responsible manner.

Last month, the government withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill from the Lok Sabha and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said the Centre was hopeful of getting new legislation passed by the next Budget Session of Parliament.

Budget Session usually starts by end of January.

Speaking at a seminar organized by economic think-tank NCAER, Sankar said India is extremely data-rich as digitalization is growing at a rapid pace.

"Data means money. Data can be monetized. Therefore, data is of significant value to the business but at the same time, we will have to have regulations in place, primarily have laws in place, followed by regulations in place, which ensures that customer data is not only safe, but that customers' privacy is not only protected but the monetisation of customer data is done in a responsible manner," he said.

Further, he said that monetization of data should be done with "some level" of consent.

The now withdrawn Personal Data Protection Bill had proposed restrictions on the use of personal data without the explicit consent of citizens. Among others, it had mooted setting up of a Data Protection Authority.