front, which Indian negotiators would dowell to take into account as they head toWG-ICT meetings. Draft TISA provisionsrequire state parties not to impose obliga-tions on online service providers to main-tain a commercial presence locally.TISA signatories would also be prohibitedfrom asking Internet companies to main-tain servers within their borders. Govern-ments can neither ask online services toprefer locally produced hardware overforeign manufacturers nor promote do-mestic content at the cost of other appli-cations. The draft agreement alsodiscourages domestic laws mandatingtechnology or intellectual property trans-fer to local companies. Some TISA provi-sions further the case for uninterruptedow of information across networks. Onthe whole, however, they would deal ablow to policies like Make in India, whichcan only be sustained through some pref-erential treatment to Indias underdevel-oped electronic sector. Given that exportsof digital services have outgrown those ofevery other commodity in the U.S., it isnot surprising that Secretary of StateJohn Kerry expressed his concerns aboutthe Make in India policy at the VibrantGujarat summit earlier this month.

Even if India is not an active interloc-utor in TISA negotiations, the underlyingmessage from the U.S. and EU is hard tomiss: commercial cyberspace is better leftunregulated. As it prepares to draft newdigital policies and calibrate existing ones,

With the India-U.S. Working Groupon Information and Communica-tion Technologies (WG-ICT) meeting inWashington D.C. a week ago, the Internetis nally at the front and centre of theNational Democratic Alliance govern-ments foreign policy. The WG-ICT wasset up in 2005, following Dr. ManmohanSinghs visit to the U.S. If its meetingswere hitherto held under the umbrella ofIndo-U.S. economic dialogue, the WG-ICTs future work will be dominated bythe requirements of the Digital Indiaprogramme. In the coming months, thegroups deliberations are expected to yieldresults on some of the key components ofthe programme digital infrastructure(to support the National Optic Fibre Net-work), an Internet of Things (IoT) re-gime (essential to building smart cities),and foreign ICT investment (in line withthe Make in India policy). The WG-ICTagenda is also likely to receive sustainedattention from the Prime Ministers Of-ce, which has invested enormous politi-cal capital in the Digital India initiative.This political imperative, however, mustbe sensitive to global developments asNew Delhi prepares to negotiate a host oftechnology-related agreements with theWest.

A welcome decisionThe NDA governments decision to en-

gage the WG-ICT is welcome. On areaslike climate change and internationaltrade, the U.S. has often used the bilateralroute to circumvent multilateral regimes.On the digital front, however, the interna-tional community is yet to generate legalinstruments on e-commerce, cybersecur-ity and Internet governance. This pro-vides wiggle room for both countries todraw their red lines and even offer a mod-el that can be emulated in a regional ormultilateral setting.

The WG-ICT, however, should not be-come a vehicle to nudge India into nego-tiating the draft text of the Trade inServices Agreement (TISA), a breakawaytreaty that has sought to create consensuswhere none could be found during theDoha round of talks at the World TradeOrganization. TISA negotiations com-prising a bloc of 28 countries and led bythe U.S. began three years ago under aveil of secrecy. In late 2014, a draft of TISAprovisions relating to online services wasleaked to the public. The leaked provi-sions revealed what the U.S. views as for-eign policy deliverables on the digital

Indias negotiators will likely face resist-ance from their Western counterparts inforums like the WG-ICT.

For instance, the Ministry of Home Af-fairs has been holding consultations onnational information security guidelines,spurred to action by the Edward Snowdenrevelations of U.S. snooping on foreigngovernments. These guidelines purport-edly deal with measures like encryptionand digital authorisation. On the otherhand, draft TISA provisions push coun-tries to let transacting parties mutuallydetermine the appropriate [electronic]authentication methods, underminingthe governments role in fostering con-sumer condence. India is also buildingits own certication labs that test elec-tronic equipment. Indigenous testing, it ishoped, will trigger greater R&D in elec-tronics manufacturing, but its effects willbe waylaid by an agreement that reducesthe scope for regulating imported

Securing a future for Digital India

equipment.Just as critical would be WG-ICT delib-

erations on Indias IoT programme. IoTrefers to a digital ecosystem where theneeds of consumers are seamlessly recog-nised by Internet-connected devicesaround them, enabling the fast and auto-mated delivery of services. The Modi gov-ernments vaunted objective of buildingsmart cities is contingent on an effectiveIoT policy.

Such a system, however, relies on ex-tensive data collected from citizens ve-hicle records, dietary habits, or evenconsumption patterns placing a premi-um on privacy and information security.Moreover, an IoT system needs sustainedcollaboration between the domestic pri-vate and public sectors. In October 2014,the Department of Electronics and IT putout a draft IoT policy that acknowledgedthese concerns. Foreign corporations willbe keen to contribute to the smart citiesproject the Indian IoT industry is esti-mated to be worth $15 billion by 2020. Butbefore the WG-ICT can negotiate theterms of operation for U.S. technology gi-ants in Indias IoT market, domestic mea-sures that account for data privacy andIntellectual Property Rights of local andforeign manufacturers must be in place.

Internet governanceInternet governance is another eld

where New Delhi must get its house inorder ahead of the IANA transition proc-ess. With the contract between the U.S.and the Internet Corporation for As-signed Names and Numbers set to expirein September 2015, Indias views on globalInternet governance will doubtless be so-licited during WG-ICT talks. Indias In-ternet economy is not on par with the U.S.but a bilateral forum like the WG-ICThelps level the playing eld for its negotia-tors. New Delhi should not offer open-ended commitments to buy U.S. serviceswithout a forensic analysis of what theywould mean for domestic constituents:the technical community, businesses, thepublic sector and end users of the In-ternet. If the Narendra Modi governmentintends to weave digital concerns into itscore foreign policy agenda, its negotiatingposition has to be supported by sounddomestic policies. Heading into bilateraltalks without such a technical or legalframework would neither bode well forthe Digital India initiatives goals or forIndias edgling Internet economy.

(Arun Mohan Sukumar is senior fellow,Centre for Communication Governance,National Law University, Delhi.)

Arun Mohan Sukumar

New Delhi should not offer open-ended commitments to buy U.S. services without a forensicanalysis of what they would mean for domestic constituents

DIGITAL FUTURE: The needs of the Digital India programme willdominate the work of the India-U.S. Working Group on Informationand Communication Technologies. Picture shows Communicationsand Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad during theDigital India Conclave 2014 in New Delhi. PHOTO: PTI

Before the WG-ICT cannegotiate the terms ofoperation for U.S.technology giants in Indias'Internet of Things' market,domestic measures thataccount for data privacymust be in place