Centre not collaborating with state on crucial issues: Priyank Kharge

New Delhi: Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge has alleged that the Centre is not collaborating with the state too often on policy matters and has not reached out to it on key issues, like internet governance, data protection and privacy.

“Every state should have an opinion, because at the end of it, a national policy is going to affect everybody. They (central government) cannot limit a national policy only to one state. It is a national policy,” Mr Kharge, who also holds the portfolio of bio-technology and tourism, said.

He made the point that it is good to have a complete opinion of all states while framing national policies and more important with states like Karnataka, which has been a leader in e-governance and technology.

Mr Kharge was in New Delhi for a roadshow of the Bengaluru Technology Summit to be held on November 16-18.

“When it comes to data protection and privacy issues, then I don't think the government of India has formally written to the government of Karnataka or at the secretariat level. If they call us for us discussion, we will be more than happy to do it,” he said.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT has created a panel to offer its recommendation on data protection framework in the country, which will also deliberate on rules concerning privacy in the digital era.

“Technically, we are a little ahead of the curve when it comes to policy framing on emerging technologies and advanced technologies. There is a lot that we can learn from each other. Somehow, I don’t see that collaboration happening too often, but I think it should,” he said.

He said the Karnataka government is first in the country to come up with an electric vehicle policy and is planning to frame a policy on e-commerce, preference for start-ups in government procurement and exploring opportunities around the emerging blockchain technology.