Delhi (The Stellar News): A government official said that on Wednesday, a data protection bill that had been under consideration for several years was withdrawn by Union Information and Technology Minister Ashwin Vaishnaw. Large corporations were concerned about the proposal. The unlimited exceptions provided to the government in the bill, enabling for surveillance, had also drawn criticism from Civil Society organizations.
Earlier, a note requesting the withdrawal stated, without going into further detail, the grounds for the withdrawal had been distributed to Parliament members. The Centre on Wednesday withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2021 — which sought to provide for protection of personal data of individuals, and establish a Data Protection Authority– after a Parliamentary committee suggested 81 changes to it. The reason for withdrawal given by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is that 81 amendments were proposed and 12 recommendations were made “towards a comprehensive legal framework”
IT Minister Ashwin Vaishnaw says, will present a new legislation as Centre withdraws Personal Data Protection Bill 2019
The bill was first bought in 2019 and was then referred to the Joint Committee. In 2021, a report from the Joint Committee was tabled in Parliament.
In 2017, the Supreme Court declared that everyone has a constitutionally protected right to privacy. The top court had ordered the national data protection framework to be developed by the Centre. On 11 December, 2019, the Personal Data Protection Bill was then presented to India’s parliament. It outlines rights with regard to their personal information and establishes guidelines for how personal data should be treated and maintained. In order to implement this law, it also suggested the establishment of the Data Protection Authority, an independent regulatory body in India. The bill also established criteria for exemption.
Report: Deepanjot Kaur (Under Training)
