NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill on Wednesday with a voice vote. Earlier on August 7, it was passed by the Lok Sabha and now the Bill needs the assent of President Draupadi Murmu to become law.
The law, which safeguards citizens’ personal data, was mandated after the Supreme Court’s decision to include the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right in 2016. Subsequently, the government introduced the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill in 2018 and tabled it in 2019, after which it was referred to a joint parliamentary panel. However, in 2022, the government withdrew the PDP Bill, citing compliance-related reasons, and introduced the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill a few months later.
Minister of State, Electronic and Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar called the bill a globally benchmarked law. “My engagement with the issue of privacy started in 2010 and led me to file a case in the Supreme Court as a petitioner. The case fought and succeeded in establishing privacy as a fundamental right. More than a decade later, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India and Indians have a globally benchmarked Digital Personal Data Protection law,” said Chandrasekhar.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Rajya Sabha on Wednesday the Bill lays down obligations on private and government entities around the collection and processing of citizen’s data.