The Union Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the Personal Data Protection Bill. It is anticipated that the bill will lay down a framework for how public and private entities will process personal data that they collect.
Guidelines on collection, storage and processing of personal data, consent of individuals, penalties and compensation, code of conduct and enforcement mechanisms are likely to be part of the law.
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in the Parliament recently that the government will introduce a robust data protection bill, adding that India will never compromise on data sovereignty.
Along the lines of Europe’s recently introduced GDPR law, the government had introduced a draft of the bill last year to regulate the use of personal data by government and private companies. The draft bill, however, faced delay due amid inter-ministerial consultations.
