India Passes Landmark Digital Personal Data Protection Bill – Raising the Bar for Global Cyber Law
India has achieved a significant milestone in its digital ecosystem with the passing of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. This bill is the first building block of the global standard cyber law framework envisioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for India’s ambitious goal of a 1 trillion-dollar digital economy and India Techade.
Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, emphasized that this bill will bring about a profound behavioral change among platforms and digital citizens in terms of how data is obtained, requested, and processed. It sends a clear message that there is a new data protection regime in place, with Indian citizens at its core.
Chandrasekhar asserted that every platform will come to realize that it is in their best interest to adapt swiftly to these new expectations of respecting the digital personal data of Indian citizens. Furthermore, he emphasized the need for the industry to transition from the current framework to the new one, and assured that there will be a transition period to ensure an orderly and non-disruptive shift.
The passing of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill has been hailed as a landmark moment in Prime Minister Modi’s vision of a digital India. Union Telecom and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw described it as a historic day as the bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament.
The bill sets out the requirements for firms collecting data online, with exceptions for government and law enforcement agencies. It also establishes the obligations of entities handling and processing data, as well as the rights of individuals.
The scope of the bill covers the processing of digital personal data within India, whether collected online or offline and subsequently digitized. It also extends to processing outside of India when it involves the offering of goods or services in India.
In addition, the bill amends the Right to Information Act, 2005 to remove public interest exemptions for disclosing personal information. The current law allows public authorities to disclose personal information, such as officials’ salaries, when deemed in the public interest. However, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill eliminates these exemptions and prohibits the disclosure of personal information altogether.
To enforce compliance, the bill proposes penalties ranging from a minimum of Rs 50 crore to a maximum of Rs 250 crore for entities that violate the prescribed norms.
The passing of this bill represents a significant step forward in India’s efforts to safeguard personal data in the digital realm. It sets higher standards for data protection and establishes a framework that prioritizes the rights and privacy of Indian citizens. This achievement further solidifies India’s position as a global leader in the field of cyber law and paves the way for the country’s digital economy to flourish.
