The Centre is open to further compressing the 18-month timeline given to data fiduciaries for complying with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) rules, with the government being in touch with industry, electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. He also indicated the government is eyeing further policy interventions in the digital space, as part of the need for a 'complete overhaul of the legal structure of the digital world'.
More than two years after the DPDP Act was passed in Parliament in August, 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) last week notified the administrative rules to put it into effect. While several provisions of the Act went live from November 13, many others will come into force in a graded manner over the next 12 to 18 months. Crucially, this includes Security safeguards to be put in by data fiduciaries, responsibilities during personal data breaches and publishing of details of data protection officers.
"The first set of rules that we have published basically gives a very reasonable time frame depending upon what the industry's asked, and what our thrust was. The argument was given to the industry that if you already have a compliance framework which is existing in other geographies, why can't you replicate it here. They are quite positive on this," he said.
The Minister said a complete digital framework has already been prepared, and after it is rolled out, and the Data Protection Board of India is formed, further amendments will be made in the rules.
The government will also continue to respond to digital challenges by updating the legal framework in the country, he stressed. "The digital world requires a complete, comprehensive overhaul of the entire legal system. We are creating a future ready legal framework while protecting the citizens from various harms that might come because of the new structures in the entire economy," he said. He referred to the Centre introducing the Telecommunications Act, and banning online real money games as examples of this.
On crucial provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act being revised with the introduction of the DPDP rules, the Minister argued the RTI Act hasn't been diluted. "The RTI act very clearly says that any information which is required to be disclosed in public interest should be disclosed. That is subsection 82 of section 8. That absolutely remains as is. There is no amendment in that," he said. Instead, citizen's right to information is actually enhanced by DPDP provisions with individuals now becoming more aware of which personal information has been collected by tech companies, and how, he retorted.
More than two years after the DPDP Act was passed in Parliament in August, 2023, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) last week notified the administrative rules to put it into effect. While several provisions of the Act went live from November 13, many others will come into force in a graded manner over the next 12 to 18 months. Crucially, this includes Security safeguards to be put in by data fiduciaries, responsibilities during personal data breaches and publishing of details of data protection officers.
"The first set of rules that we have published basically gives a very reasonable time frame depending upon what the industry's asked, and what our thrust was. The argument was given to the industry that if you already have a compliance framework which is existing in other geographies, why can't you replicate it here. They are quite positive on this," he said.
The Minister said a complete digital framework has already been prepared, and after it is rolled out, and the Data Protection Board of India is formed, further amendments will be made in the rules.
The government will also continue to respond to digital challenges by updating the legal framework in the country, he stressed. "The digital world requires a complete, comprehensive overhaul of the entire legal system. We are creating a future ready legal framework while protecting the citizens from various harms that might come because of the new structures in the entire economy," he said. He referred to the Centre introducing the Telecommunications Act, and banning online real money games as examples of this.
On crucial provisions of the Right To Information (RTI) Act being revised with the introduction of the DPDP rules, the Minister argued the RTI Act hasn't been diluted. "The RTI act very clearly says that any information which is required to be disclosed in public interest should be disclosed. That is subsection 82 of section 8. That absolutely remains as is. There is no amendment in that," he said. Instead, citizen's right to information is actually enhanced by DPDP provisions with individuals now becoming more aware of which personal information has been collected by tech companies, and how, he retorted.