Directorate committee to be formed
KATHMANDU, Feb 10: Data centers and cloud service providers must now be mandatorily listed.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology is introducing a directive that requires data centers and cloud service providers to list with the Department of Information Technology before starting their services.
Service providers wishing to operate a data center must submit an application for listing with the department, including details of 13 different aspects of their operation. Those wishing to offer cloud services must submit an application to the department with details of nine different aspects of their operation.
Data centers and cloud service providers listed at the department must update their details by mid-January each year. If they violate any compliance terms or misuse stored data, the Department of Information Technology may remove them from the list. The directive also establishes a rating system for data centers.
"The data center will be rated based on its physical infrastructure and the services it provides during service delivery," the directive states.
Data center service providers storing government data must achieve a level of three or higher.
Additionally, the government will form a directorate committee to manage and coordinate data centers and cloud services. The Secretary of the Ministry of Communication will chair the committee, which will include the Under Secretary of Information Technology from the Prime Minister's Office, and the Under Secretaries of Information Technology from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation and Ministry of Communication and Information Technology as members.
The committee will include the head of the National Cyber Security Center and an expert member. The directive also defines the functions, duties, and powers of the Integrated Data Management Center. For a long time, the government has faced criticism for not regulating the data centers and cloud services operating across the country.