We must approach tech transformations with due care

How we deal with technology is getting highly complex. It's the reason we must exercise fine judgement

- RAHUL MATTHAN

Without a doubt, the biggest disappointment of 2024 has to be the fact that India's data protection law is still not in force despite having managed to get through both houses of Parliament in record time in 2023. The rules that were supposed to be issued this year still haven't seen the light of day.

In anticipation of the new law coming into effect, I discussed over the course of the year several issues that still needed to be addressed. In particular, I called for a sensible approach to age-gating—even suggesting zero-knowledge proof tokens as a way out. But none of this will make a difference until the law is brought into force. After all, this is just the first step. We still need to establish a data protection board, put in place mechanisms for audit, cross-border data transfers and the like.

On the other hand, what is most gratifying is the pace at which India's digital public infrastructure (DPI) approach gained acceptance around the world in the span of one short year. I was worried that this might not be the case, given the many concerns that were being raised about the DPI approach. But I should not have been.

Thanks to the work of many, DPI adoption scaled up around the world, as evidenced by outcomes of the DPI Global Summit, the Quad statement in Delaware and the UN's DPI Safeguards Initiative. On my recent visit to Brazil, I had an opportunity to witness in person the extent to which the DPI message had percolated into the global agenda on digital governance (and see for myself the DPI for climate change that Brazil had built).