MUMBAI: At a time when the Indian government is highly focussed on data localisation, Google CEO Sundar Pichai has advocated free flow of cross-border data. The Google exec wrote a letter to Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad where he said such a step would encourage global companies to contribute to India’s digital economy. However, he also mentioned the importance of data privacy and security.

“Free flow of data across borders - with a focus on user privacy and security - will encourage startups to innovate and expand globally and encourage global companies to contribute to India’s digital economy,” he said.

Thanking Prasad for his visit to Google's Mountain View campus last month Pichai said the company shares the vision of creating a truly 'Digital India’ and remains firmly committed to being part of the India growth story.

Recently, the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee recommended in a report that every data fiduciary in India shall ensure the storage of at least one serving copy of personal data on a server or data centre located in India. Along with that, it also stated that the government can notify some categories of personal data as critical personal data that have to be stored in a server or data centre located only in India. The government has extended the date to submit public feedback on the draft bill to 30 September.