Technological advances have led to large volumes of data being generated through and there is an increasing dependence of businesses on data-driven decision making. On the other hand, there is a huge collection and usage of data by the government for provision of State benefits. The biometric identification and verification system of Aadhaar that enables the government to ensure targeted delivery of State benefits, such as LPG subsidies is one such example.
- The Personal Data Protection Bill proposes to regulate the processing of personal data of individuals by government and private entities incorporated in India and abroad. Processing is allowed if the individual gives consent, or in a medical emergency, or by the State for providing benefits.
The bill covers the following issues in detail:
- Territorial applicability
- Grounds for data processing
- Sensitive personal data:
- Rights of the data principal
- Obligations of the data fiduciary
- Exemptions
- Data Protection Authority
- Cross-border storage of data
- Transfer of data outside the country
- Offences and penalties
You can read a copy of the draft bill below for a better understanding of the subject.
The Indian Govt. is likely to water down its proposed rules on data privacy and localisation, mandating that only critical information needs to be compulsorily retained in India, people familiar with the matter said.
In a statement released by the Indian Govt. today there is a proposal to ease the restrictions. “The proposed (draft) Data Protection Bill will now be tweaked to allow personal information which is not ‘critical’ nor ‘sensitive’ to be stored and processed anywhere, while data classified as ‘critical’ should be kept only in India,” This would enable some large MNCs to breathe easy.
However, data privacy and the ease with which Indians share their data due to sheer lack of awareness or without giving a thought to the consequences is a burning issue and the more we drive awareness about the subject the better.
[pdf-embedder url=”https://cxmlab.com/media-bucket/2019/07/Draft-Personal-Data-Protection-Bill-2018-Draft-Text.pdf” title=”Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 Draft Text”]
Click here to download this pdf