The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) expects India’s economy to grow 7% in calendar year 2018 compared with 6.2% in 2017.The body said that an expansion in services and higher demand for exports has led to a moderate recovery in industrial production in its Trade and Development Report.India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 8.2% in the April-June quarter propelled by a double-digit growth in manufacturing and better farm sector performance.As per the report, “the effects of demonetization are still evident in private consumption trends within the economy”.It also emphasised that countries like India and Thailand, which have been most favoured by foreign investors and experienced the largest spike in asset prices, would be most vulnerable to capital outflows. Further, countries like India which are dealing with current account deficits have a tendency of reducing imports.This assumes significance in the wake of India putting in place measures to control the rising current account deficit and capital outflows.Besides the Indian rupee being under pressure, the report pointed to non-performing assets and curbed credit expansion. This is likely to adversely affect investment and growth, it said.Ecommerce policyIn the report, UNCTAD has cautioned developing countries that digitized exchanges are paid for in data and goods and services are delivered, often free of charge in dollar terms, in exchange of the customers’ data that allows for rent seeking and other anticompetitive practices.The report calls for policies to prevent anticompetitive behaviour and misuse of data by digital platforms.Countries’ national data policy should be designed to address four core issues: who can own data; how it can be collected; who can use it; and under what terms, it said.“It should also address the issue of data sovereignty which relates to what data can leave the country and are thereby not governed under domestic laws,” UNCTAD said.Referring to super digital platforms of multinational companies, it said: “Providing customer data to international platforms tends to result in concentration of corporate power that may make it difficult for developing countries to get access to, own and use data regarding their economies and their citizens for their own economic development”.The recommendations come in the wake of India working on a national ecommerce policy to promote its domestic companies.As per the report: “The rising rents of these super-platforms and their ability to kill competition from national platforms remains unchecked because of a lack of regulatory policies”.Taxing these firms where their activities are based rather than where they declare their headquarters will help in redistributing their rents and increase government revenues.It has recommended policies on making access to non-personal data as open as possible.The body has suggested direct investment by governments in corporate equities to sustain digital innovations, enhance use of advanced technology and promote reverse innovations.