Nitin Pai quoted in The Economic Times

Nitin Pai is quoted in the Economic Times article on Geospatial information and online maps, titled,"Rs 100 crore fine for faulty map? Bizarre, say experts".

The article talks about the consequences of the draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016 on various businesses that use location data  like cab services or navigation maps. Nitin Pai emphasises that there is merit in the government's insistence that all companies and individuals  must represent the country's boundaries in accordance with the government's official position. He elaborates on how the bill could end up creating a license-permit raj:

Nitin Pai, who heads Bengaluru-based think tank The Takshashila Institution, finds the penalty clause "bizarre". "The idea of punishment has to arise from the objective of the draft bill. That itself is unclear," he said. The public policy expert also argues that "geospatial information" could also mean location coordinates and the bill could create a licence-permit raj.Bengaluru-based thinktank head Nitin Pai agreed there was a case for the government to insist that all companies and individuals in India must represent the country's boundaries in accordance with the government's official position. "However, this purpose does not require a license-permit-enforcement raj that the bill could end up creating. This bill is not consistent with PM Modi's stated vision of Digital India," he said.

The whole article can be read here.