amazon flipkart facebook youtube and other companies that store or mirror indian users data overseas will be subject to periodic audit according to a draft ecommerce policy that will soon be made public ecommerce companies will have to make available any data the government seeks within 72 hours or pay a penalty according to the draft which et has seenthe focus is more on promotion of ecommerce as we have tried to distance from data localisation said an official drawing a distinction with last years draft that sought to impose tight controls on user information being stored overseas advt the new draft policy has proposed a regulator for the sector and an ecommerce law that restricts information these firms can store use transfer process and analyse it also empowers the government to review investigate and take action against any ecommerce activity that threatens the countrys security country of origin and value addition in india will have to be clearly specified by ecommerce entities for imports and exports respectivelythe department for promotion of industry and internal trade dpiit is finalising the new draft ecommerce policy that provides for regulations on issues such as security law and order law enforcement taxation and safety of individuals to enable the government to have speedy access to data flowing on ecommerce platforms in the country the official saidthere is consensus on the broad contours of the draft policy but what shape it takes will be decided after it is okayed from all quarters and then put up for public consultation the official added safeguards for data storagefor those categories of data which can be stored mirrored abroad companies would have to ensure that adequate safeguards are in place at the specified data storage location through a comprehensive periodic audit according to the proposed policyas per the draft the government in consultation with relevant stakeholders will define the categories of ecommerce that will require mirroring or local storage of data it proposes to prohibit crossborder flow of information pertaining to defence medical records biological records cartographic data and genome mapping without appropriate authorisation advt the draft policy made public last year had faced flak as it was datafocussed and sought to impose strict conditions on crossborder information flows and payment for and duration of data stored abroad as well as locating computing facilities within the country it covered individual national and sensitive datanew areas coveredthe new draft policy aims to bring online sellers that are currently offline and supporting them with computerisation and digital payment enablementin a radical change from the earlier draft the new one proposes legislation that protects users under the age of 18 years who are unable to enter into valid contracts with their ecommerce service providers and hence at risk as they cannot enforce their rights against such companiesas per the draft payments made through tokens created by foreign ecommerce entities such as those providing live video streaming services will have to be channelled through the liberalized remittance scheme lrs prepaid wallets