The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on November 18 released the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022. The purpose of this Act is to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognizes both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes. 

One of the key highlights of the draft is a provision of a fine of up to Rs 250 crore on entities managing data that fail to take reasonable security safeguards. 

MeitY has invited feedback from the public on the draft Bill by 17th December 2022. According to MeitY the feedback may be submitted on the MyGov website, and a link will be provided shortly. MeitY has also confirmed that the submissions will be fully confidential.  

A data protection law has been in the works since 2017, when the Supreme Court, in the landmark Puttaswamy Judgement, ruled that privacy is a fundamental right of Indian citizens, putting the government under the obligation to pass legislation to protect this right. 

The new Data Protection Bill, the Telecommunication Bill 2022 and the revamped IT Act of 2000 are expected to lay the legal groundwork for India’s digital economy. The Data Protection Bill 2019 was introduced on December 11, 2019, and then referred to the joint committee of both houses of Parliament (JCP) for examination. The JCP report was presented to Lok Sabha in December 2021. The Bill was then returned with as many as 81 amendments. It was rescinded from Lok Sabha by Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in August 2022.