Centre may roll out e-com policy without data norms

The commerce ministry will proceed with the proposed e-commerce policy without waiting for the personal data protection bill to be passed in Parliament, a top ministry official said.

The policy will also stay clear of the controversial data localization rules, as these will be separately handled by the Reserve Bank of India and the upcoming bill pending before Parliament.

An earlier version of the draft e-commerce policy leaked in 2008, which had proposed to include data rules, was junked after stiff opposition from the industry. A recent version accessed by Mint in March this year showed the commerce ministry intends to bring in regulations that would prevent the formation of digital monopolies and facilitate e-commerce exports.