There is a prime focus on digital users as they emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic into a post pandemic “next normal.” The mainstreaming of IoT, AI and big data analytics, is providing utilities with the firepower of working and transforming into modern enterprises. The unprecedented adoption of e-utilities has already charged up the digital space. Cryptocurrencies, unicorns, decacorns, IPOs, super apps, data breaches have become a part of drawing room conversations in 2021 — a year when India’s digital economy boomed. Several important pending Bills and policies across data protection, cryptocurrencies, e-commerce and social media intermediaries were fast tracked. A lot of this was driven by an unprecedented digital adoption of payments, e-commerce, social media, healthcare, education, remote working and every other possible utility. In 2022, the digital economy will continue its upward journey, propelled by the listing frenzy of internet start-ups towards the end of 2021. The listings have boosted investor confidence in the internet economy space. Developing countries such as Brazil, India, and Mexico have seen higher growth in digital adoption than developed ones have, during the past six months, which may reflect a “catching up” effect, since developed countries were further ahead in their pace of digitization, and in the percentage of adults with internet access. It follows that developed countries may see a deceleration in digital adoption sooner than developing countries will.

In India the digital economy gained speed, regulations arrived and we are likely to see more rules governing the space. But an area of concern are overlaps, and experts feel these need to be streamlined. The draft bill focussing on “personal” data protection now includes social media intermediaries, which could also fall under the new IT Rules. An expert from IndiaTech.Org says, “Last three years of our efforts with SEBI and the government finally took shape in 2021 with the li.