The US wants India to ensure that its data localisation plan does not "stymie growth” and American financial transaction companies are treated "fairly", Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has said. Mnuchin also insisted that America has no problem if countries want to have local data for regulatory purposes as long as they do not eliminate it outside the country.
Data localisation is the practice of physically storing data on servers located within a country's territory. The RBI had, in April last year, asked payment firms to ensure their data were stored exclusively on local servers, setting a tight six-month deadline for compliance.
US firms like Google, Mastercard, Visa and Amazon have lobbied against data localisation rules around the world including India, stressing that it would make their operations more complicated and costly.