The first draft of India’s impending new law for the tech sector, known as the Digital India Act, is expected to be released by the end of July or early August.

According to the Economic Times newspaper, senior government officials said the Centre may seek pre-draft stage consultations from lawyers and policy experts later this week, with May 3 set as the start date.

Following the consultations, all parties involved will have 45 days to respond. The first draft of the Act could result from these responses and be published in three months.

The Digital India Act is expected to be the overarching regulation that all parties in the technology sector must follow, completely replacing the Information Technology Act of 2000.

The new Act will be distinct from the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, which was introduced last year and only addresses the processing of personal user data.

According to ET, the upcoming Digital India Act will also seek to establish market practice guidelines to regulate Big Tech’s anticompetitive market practices.