The recommendations by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on “data empowerment” fall under the broader concept of what is defined by a section of the technology industry as “India Two” — 100 million families that have an annual household income between Rs 2 and 5.5 lakh.
While efforts are on to lay down the framework for protection, privacy and security of data generated by millions of internet users in India, work is also underway to enable citizens to leverage their data for various uses, including to access credit.
To this effect, the Trai, which issued its recommendations on privacy, security and ownership of data in the telecom sector on July 16, has called for setting up an electronic consent-based mechanism for telecom users to allow use of their data.
Analysts predict that the use of alternate data sets like telecom usage patterns could power a credit boom among the self-employed and low-income population groups that have no credit history to offer other than data on their spending habits maintained by service providers such as telecom companies.
Source: Indian Express
