Focused on providing equal opportunities to all net firms: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The government will provide equal opportunities as per law to all internet companies, both foreign-owned and Indian, and is taking a professional approach in dealing with any outstanding issues, said Union Minister of State for IT and Electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In an exclusive interview with ET’s Surabhi Agarwal, Chandrasekhar said social media platforms should be accountable for content on their platforms and that personal and non-personal data should be regulated by a single data protection authority. He also said that keeping senstitive personal data in India is good for data autonomy and data security of the country. His ministry is working on a significant “digital government” project, he said, which will deepen the use of technology in governance. Edited excerpts:

A parliamentary panel’s draft report talks about social media platforms being given the publishers’ tag. If it is incorporated into law, will you as junior IT minister be comfortable with that?