Cabinet approves Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, likely to table it in monsoon session

The Union Cabinet has approved the draft of Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill 2023 and is likely to introduce it in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament, India Today reported on Wednesday. All online and offline data in India will fall under its legal domain, the report said. Personal data can be processed under this bill only if an individual has consented to it. But, there are some exceptions for when the government might need data on grounds of national security and law and order.

The bill includes almost all the provisions of the last draft that was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for consultation, the news agency PTI reported citing sources. The government entities have not been granted a blanket exemption under the proposed law. "In case of disputes, Data Protection Board will decide. Citizens will have the right to claim compensation by approaching the civil court. There are a lot of things that will evolve gradually," the source told the news agency.

According to the report, individuals will have the right to seek details about their data collection, storage, and processing once the law is implemented. The bill proposes to levy a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for every instance of violation of norms in the bill. "The Cabinet has approved the draft of the DPDP bill. It will be tabled in Parliament in the upcoming session," the source told PTI.

Monsoon session of Parliament will be held from July 20 to August 11.