By Nasscom
A Tech Agnostic Bill that Strikes the Right Balance Between Privacy & Innovation
The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill is a significant milestone that will bolster trust and solidify India’s position as a global leading innovation hub. This bill holds immense importance in today’s digital landscape, where data is integral to every industry and nation. India today is very well poised to accelerate the roadmap of an inclusive digital economy by leading the co-development of a responsible approach toward the adoption of AI and other emerging technologies. Therefore, a bill that is tech-agnostic and caters to the dynamic digital ecosystem will help stimulate India’s digital thought leadership globally.
Nasscom appreciates the government’s comprehensive consultation process, which actively engaged the industry, startups, and SMEs at every stage. This collaborative approach seeks to establish a robust framework of privacy protection while enabling innovation, thus creating an environment of trust which is conducive to sustainable business growth.
The extensive industry consultations undertaken by the government have contributed to a sharper focus on personal data protection. This is visible in the removal of default data residency obligations, hardware certification provisions and other obligations which are not focused towards safeguarding privacy. The proposal to set up a data protection board with the objective to enable swift and effective redressal of user grievances is expected to be a significant step forward in strengthening privacy protection.
The bill is a testament to the government’s dedication to fostering a collaborative approach towards data protection, trust-building, and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive in the digital age. We look forward to the same being introduced in the Parliament.
