IT industry apex body Nasscom on Thursday said that the parliamentary panel’s recommendations to expand the scope of the data protection bill to cover non-personal data needs careful analysis and deeper debate.
The joint parliamentary committee (JPC) has released a reworked version of the 2019 Bill, now called the “Data Protection Act of 2021” (2021 Bill). The key highlights of the report include widening the scope of the draft legislation include widening the scope of the proposed data protection legislation to also cover both personal and non-personal data and greater accountability for social media platforms by treating them as publishers.
It has favoured a mechanism for certification of all digital and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The suggestions made by the panel are not binding.
The parliamentary committee has further recommended that an approximate period of 24 months be given for the implementation of provisions of the legislation. Nasscom-Data Security Council of India (DSCI) said they expect these recommendations to be widely debated and discussed so that India continues to enable cross-border data flows without undue restrictions, provides an effective safe harbour regime for intermediaries and ensures a globally competitive market ecosystem for fintech and the financial sector in general.
Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said a robust data protection law is critical to safeguard the privacy of Indian citizens, while driving the country’s success in the digital economy.
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“While the JPC has retained much of what was positive with the 2019 Bill, and accepted many more recommendations from the industry, certain areas will require further deliberation – particularly the expansion of the scope to cover non-personal data,” Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said.
“Nasscom will continue to work with the government towards passing a law that brings regulatory certainty and delivers on our collective duty to protect India’s personal data,” she added.
(with agency inputs)
