If explicitly requested, data gathered from individuals can be permanently erased once the service has been provided, said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Electronics, and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

“Data limitation involves collecting only essential information for a particular service, while purpose limitation entails using the data solely for that purpose,” he said, addressing a question on the revised digital personal data protection legislation.

Apart from the discussion pertaining to citizen data, Chandrasekhar also stated matters of concern around the Angel Tax levied on capital raised by unlisted companies from international investors.

In the recent past, the Finance Minister proposed in the Budget that the extra premium received by an unlisted company in India by the sale of shares to a foreign investor will be recognised as “income from other sources”, and will be taxed. According to the rule, any extra premium the investor pays over the start-up’s fair market value (FMV) will attract a 20 per cent tax.

“We certainly think that the angel tax is an aberration and we need more reforms, and that is certainly something that the Finance Minister is aware of,” said the Minister at the ‘Breakfast with businessline’ event in Bengaluru.

Furthermore, he added that the ongoing funding winter in the start-up ecosystem can be better characterised as a valuation reset.

“First, phrases like funding winter are true, but are more like a phenomenon that is driven by a global trend of risk aversion caused by the first of all two years of this pandemic, and then at a time when nobody ever thought in 2022 that Europe would see war after having seen two great wars.”

Even the tech sector is certainly going through a significantly different period, with no one in a position to say what the global economy will be like in 2024.

“We are living in very challenging times and, therefore, there is a direct impact on risk appetite vis-à-vis start-ups. We as the government of India are encouraging more and more domestic sources of capital to step up and be available to our start-up ecosystem. It is seeing an opportunity and seeing that capital flows are not as visible or as robust and stepping up and complementing it with capital.”

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