A senior government official said Tuesday that it was not looking to ban Indians on terrorism charges from operating in India because the country was a “safe country” and the country “has an excellent quality of life.”
In an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Minister of State for Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Indian government had not decided to ban its citizens from operating abroad, but it was looking to take a look at how the country’s “safety” could be affected by such a move.
India’s national security agencies have been looking into a number of measures, including cyber attacks, for months, with officials saying they are looking at “different strategies.”
A new policy by the Ministry of State and Information Technology has been announced last week that will allow citizens to enter India for three months for “training” or for business purposes.
It is unclear whether the move is a reaction to the recent cyber attacks on the country.
The minister also said the government was looking into the issue of “tampering” with data in an effort to “improve the country.”
He did not say if the measures are aimed at “criminalizing” the use of technology in India.
The new rules, however, could have significant implications for the country if it follows the example of other countries like the United States and Britain.
In both countries, authorities have cracked down on tech companies that were found to be doing something wrong.
A report by the British parliament last month accused the U.K. government of using technology to spy on the private lives of British citizens.