Dr. Rajendra Kumar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) has said that the personal data Protection (PDP) Bill, likely to be introduced in parliament later this year, would provide a boost to our data and digital economy.

He added that other similar laws around the world were studied and refined by the Indian policy-makers to come up with a proposed law that would suit the Indian context.

According to him, the unique concept of “significant data fiduciaries” based on the volume of data processing, is likely to be beneficial to Indian startups.

He was addressing a virtual seminar on “Impact of Personal Data Protection Bill on Internet Startups”, organized by the Centre for the Digital Future (CDF) on Wednesday.

Earlier, opening the seminar, R Chandrashekhar, Chairman, Centre for Digital Future and former IT and Telecom Secretary, set the tone for the seminar by stating that “privacy in the digital world is a sine qua non (meaning: a necessary or indispensable requirement), but preserving opportunities for innovation and growth of the digital and data economy need close attention while formulating and implementing regulations to protect privacy.”

The PDP Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha or the Lower House in December 2019 and was subsequently referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee. The JPC is expected to submit its report shortly.

The bill seeks to provide provisions for the protection of the personal data of citizens and establish a Data Protection Authority (DPA) for this. In the PDP bill, a data fiduciary is an entity or individual who decides the means and purpose of processing personal data.

The startup representatives present at the discussion were of the view that the PDP Bill would introduce the much-needed clarity in their business processes and allow them to plan and architect solutions with more certainty.

They opined that localization requirements could be more easily implemented by smaller companies, which did not have legacy systems but could pose challenges in addressing global markets and in segregation of data that would require planning, investment, and time.

The panelists present in the discussion agreed that the implementation of the provisions of the PDP Bill would be a complex and challenging task.

Centre for the Digital Future, housed within the India Development Foundation, is a research organization founded by public policy experts spanning multiple disciplines to study various regulatory and policy aspects of the digital economy.