India requires new legislation in the form of an Economic Espionage Act, as recommended by the Law Commission's 2024 report.
The Law Commission of India's report, "Trade Secrets and Economic Espionage," proposes a Trade Secrets Bill and a stricter legal framework to address economic espionage, citing the threat of trade secret theft to business interests and national economic security.
economic espionage refers to an "act of deliberate acquisition of confidential information from domestic companies and government entities to benefit a foreign State"
The report highlights the distinction between economic and industrial espionage, with the key difference lying in the perpetrator.
Author's summary: India needs an Economic Espionage Act to protect trade secrets.