On January 04, 2019, the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, informed the Rajya Sabha that the data protection law has been finalized and the Bill “Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018” will be tabled in Parliament soon.
Justice BN Srikrishna committee formed by the Indian government in August 2017 with the goal of introducing a comprehensive data protection law in India presented draft data protection bill called Personal Data Protection Act, 2018 (the “Bill”). which shall apply to all Indians.
Data Protection Bill : https://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Personal_Data_Protection_Bill,2018.pdf
Existing Data protection framework in India
Level of Regulation & Enforcement of data protection laws around the world
Need for a Data Privacy / Protection Bill
The digital revolution has triggered a lot of debate around data privacy which called for the government to build a comprehensive Data Privacy / Protection Bill to safeguard some of the fundamental rights
Significant drivers to revamp the existing laws are
Justice Puttuswamy judgment:
“The honorable Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgment in the case of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India & Ors. 2017 (10) SCALE 1, wherein it was held that the right to privacy is an intrinsic part of the fundamental right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 (in particular and in all fundamental rights in Part III which protect freedoms in general) of the Constitution of India.”
National security:
India with rich & diversified cultures, religions and linguistic presents its own challenges for the State. For tackling the internal and external security challenges, the country necessarily needs to have the ability to engage in real-time surveillance of its data to protect it’s citizens
Information Technology Sector:
India had a 55% share of the US$185-190 billion global outsourcing business in FY18. With the advent of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU w.e.f. May 25, 2018, data transfer outside of EU requires significant regulatory rules which will become a threat to the India IT Industry without a comprehensive Indian Data protection policy
Significance of Data Protection Bill
- Guidelines for collecting, processing & time duration for which personal / sensitive data can be stored
- Defining a Chief Data Officer Role in organization’s & also enforce third party audits to monitor their use of personal data
- Implementing security safe-guards for the data protection in organizations
- Guidelines for notification in event of a data breach to the regulators
- Penalties in case of Non-Compliance which would be penalties up to 5 Crore Rupees or 2% percent of global annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher
Challenges:
- Several obligations listed in the Bill would need significant investment and increase regulatory burden to the business
- Skills such as Chief Data Officer are at scare in India which will also posses greater challenges to the companies
- The Bill has been created in a very short time which might have shortcomings & implementation challenges
- The central committee for Data Protection Authority is not proposed as Independent and will be controlled by the center which might be used for undue political advantages
In the new digital world, enacting such laws are important to protect the citizens. Organizations should start enacting them at the earlier stage as such compliance & regulatory related investments will benefit on the longer run .
References :
http://www.mondaq.com/india/x/792162/Data+Protection+Privacy/India+On+Data+Privacy+Personal+Data+Protection+Bill+2018
https://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Personal_Data_Protection_Bill,2018.pdf
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/personal-data-protection-bill-only-after-new-government-takes-over/articleshow/67374919.cms
https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2018/07/27/indias-draft-data-privacy-law-issued-today/
https://yourstory.com/2018/09/india-data-protection-law-legal-compliance
Business Management 