NEW DELHI: The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, which proposes to safeguard the privacy of citizens, on Monday, passed by voice vote in Lok Sabha. The bill was passed after a brief discussion amid commotion as a few members sought amendments to the bill.
Data Protection Bill, which proposes a penalty of Rs 250 crore per instance, has been brought after extensive public consultation. The government brought up the bill after six years after the Supreme Court declared Right to Privacy as a fundamental right.
IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while moving forward with the bill for consideration, claimed that it would have been good had the Opposition discussed the bill today. “But no Opposition leader or member is concerned over the rights of the citizens,” brazenly claimed the minister. The Bill will now head to the Upper House.
The bill mandates certain obligations for Data Fiduciaries in case of processing any data of citizens. The entities will seek the consent of citizens and will have to inform the reasons to process data. In case of a data breach, the entities are liable to pay up to Rs 250 crore in each instance and the company or organisation can be blocked in case of a breach committed for a third time.
“Opposition members had little concern for issues such as public welfare and the protection of people’s personal data, and hence, they were raising slogans,” claimed the minister.
Meanwhile, industry experts are of the view that the bill once enacted will protect the privacy of people. Manish Sehgal, Partner, Risk Advisory, Deloitte India, said.
“Data protection bill once enacted will enhance the privacy cognizance of Indian citizens by empowering them with their privacy rights through transformative accountability measures to be adopted by enterprises. Driving robust protection and security measures, combined with effective privacy policies and grievance redressal are the layered requisites towards its compliance.”