Parliamentary panel approves revised draft of data protection law: IT minister

Union minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Thursday said the parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology has given a “thumbs up” to the revised draft of the data protection law.

Bureaucrat-turned-politician Vaishnav, who currently holds the IT portfolio, said holding an advanced copy of the amended bill data security was shared with the committee.

Addressing the annual NTLF here, Vaishnav said, “I want to share some good news that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT and Communications…before taking this bill to the Parliament, they have given a big nod.”

In 2021, the government withdrew the first version of the same bill after several changes suggested by a joint parliamentary committee and promised to come out with a new bill, which it did late last year.

Debjani Ghosh, president of IT industry lobby NASSCOM, said the bill needs to be passed at the earliest and is expected to pass it this year itself.

Vaishnav said that when it comes to technical regulations, the world is in a complex moment where every country is approaching the issue differently.

India’s endeavor would be to take into account its aspirations while taking a decision on the subject and navigate the environment accordingly, he said, adding that no country should copy the other while framing its laws.

Vaishnav, who attended the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, said there is increased trust in India globally.

He added that Indian companies have to be careful and not over-promise as they integrate into the global supply chain with their products and services.

“Promise what we can, never over-promise,” the minister told delegates at the summit, asking the industry to focus on innovation and people.