New Delhi, Jan 30 (IANS): The average privacy spending by businesses in India was $3.1 million in 2022 and $2.4 million in 2021, a new report said on Monday.

According to a report by networking giant Cisco, about 85 per cent of respondents in India recognise significant business benefits of privacy investment, and 41 per cent of respondents identify privacy as a core skill in the country.

Moreover, estimated privacy benefits in India have been $2.8 million in 2021 and $3.5 million in 2022.

"As the study shows that, despite a challenging economic environment, organisations continue to invest in privacy, with spending in India significantly up almost 30 per cent in the last year," said Samir Kumar Mishra, Director of Security Sales, Cisco India & SAARC.

"By embedding data protection and privacy into their culture and ongoing operations, organisations can ensure that they are well-positioned to meet the challenges of an increasingly data-driven digital world," he added.

Reacting to privacy laws globally, 92 per cent of all corporate respondents in India state privacy laws have had a positive impact, and only 1 per cent indicated that the laws had a negative impact.

The report further mentioned that, when it comes to the application and use of AI in their solutions, about 98 per cent of respondents said that the organisation needs to be doing more to reassure customers that their data is only being used for intended and legitimate purposes and only 2 per cent disagree.

When it comes to data localisation, about 95 per cent of respondents in India believe that their data would be inherently safer if it could be stored within their country or region, and 93 per cent believe that global providers can better protect their data compared to local providers.