A parliamentary panel has said the country urgently needs data minimisation, data privacy and a data residency law to ensure the security of private and public data while cautioning against India becoming a digital colony. <br/><br/>The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in its draft report has urged the government to bring data protection legislation before Parliament at the earliest. The draft report also pitched for establishing a duly empowered coordinating authority, at par with Space and Atomic Energy Departments with adequate budget and reporting directly to the Prime Minister's Office. <br/><br/>The panel said, as the country marches towards digitalisation, especially after demonetisation, it is necessary to have a sound consumer policy and data protection laws. It also suggested that users or individuals must have control or ownership of the data they shared with various entities. <br/>