Why India, EU Should Prioritise Removing Existing Bottlenecks in Trade and Technology Pact

As technology remains a critical factor in advancing countries’ economies, there is also a quest for improving the accessibility of these critical technologies. The recently announced Europe-India Trade and Technology Council (TTC) Agreement is an attempt to have easier access of key technologies to both actors. The agreement seeks to improve the cross-border flow of technology goods and services between the two entities. An area of focus would be the existing and potential trade barriers that might impact the agreement. These barriers need to be addressed if the agreement can yield tangible results for the growth of the technology sector in India and Europe.

The opinion of Western liberals or conservatives is inconsequential for the J&K situation at this point

The Print’s daily roundtable TalkPoint posed a question connected to the unofficial trip of twenty-seven European Union MPs to Jammu and Kashmir: Modi govt allows mostly far-Right EU MPs to J&K: Smart diplomacy to counter Western liberals?The Indian government has lost the plot if this unofficial trip is being held to ‘counter Western liberals’. The opinion of Western liberals or conservatives is inconsequential for the situation in J&K at this point.The fact remains that the situation there is not normal. It is in a volatile security situation abetted by Pakistan, exacerbated by the absence of legitimate political channels, prolonged restrictions on communications, a weak economic infrastructure, and an inadequate administrative capacity. The real challenge before the government then is to manage this security situation while rebooting the economic and political mechanisms quickly. Even a favourable report by this MEP delegation will have zero impact on solving this challenge. In fact, it will lead to rounds of trips and counter-trips, needless distractions given the delicate and tense situation on the ground.Even from a moral standpoint, this visit is problematic as Indian politicians have been disallowed from visiting the valley. Several local politicians still remain under detention.Hence, the visit is unlikely to change perception domestically or internationally. Moreover, it goes against the long-held Indian position that political developments in J&K are an internal matter of the Republic of India.Read the entire discussion on ThePrint.in website here.

What the GDPR Means for India

As the GDPR seeks to protect data users in Europe (and regions where the EU laws apply), it might not really make a difference to data users in India. However, this law extends to both citizens as well as non-citizens within the boundaries of the continent. So, if you have plans to travel to Europe, you have the added advantage of being covered by the protections under the GDPR as soon as you land there.On the other hand, the GDPR requires companies all over the world to comply with its provisions if they provide any goods or services anywhere in Europe, or in any manner monitor the behaviour of any individuals in Europe. This means that some Indian sectors such as information technology, the outsourcing industry, and pharmaceuticals might be hit by the GDPR. As the penalty for a contravention is up to 4% of the annual turnover of the company, this is not a trivial obligation for affected Indian data controllers.

However, the biggest impact of the GDPR for India is probably the indirect or the persuasive impact.

Read more here.