Understanding the Impact of Data Localization on Digital Trade

About Project

The research study measures the economic importance of digital services exports for the Indian economy and analyses the implications of foreign and domestic data flow restrictions on the economy. The study builds seven scenarios, each varying in the level of restrictiveness imposed on cross-border data flows by the Government of India and by its major trading partners in retaliation. The scenarios estimate retaliation from India’s top export destination for digital services (United States) due to restricted market access for the US firms, and lastly, when all importers of digital services from India impose retaliatory restrictions on CBDF. The study also includes views and experiences of industry stakeholders, collected via in-depth interviews, which details the impact of data localisation on India’s domestic industry, innovation, compliance and more.