Data Protection, Telecom Bills Likely to Be Tabled in Monsoon Session of Parliament: IT Minister Says

The exercise to bring in Telecom Bill and Digital Data Protection Bill is in a “very advanced stage” and is likely to be tabled in Parliament during the next Monsoon Session, said the Union Minister of Communications and Electronics, and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“Prime Minister has given a very clear vision that there should be a legal framework for the Digital Empowered Society. In this exercise very advanced work is going on Telecom Bill, Digital Data Protection Bill and Digital India Bill,” Vaishnaw said, at Google for India event held in the national capital on Monday.

Further, the minister added that two of the bills have already been placed for public consultation and the third bill, the Digital India Bill, will also be published very soon.

“We have taken special care in all three bills that it should be easy to understand, should be technology agnostic, should be future ready,” the minister added. All three Bills, he said, focus on how to secure the digital space.

Moreover, speaking about India’s digital adoption, Vaishnaw said that people in India are adopting technology very fast. It has a good impact in the country and is percolated to the startup ecosystem in Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities, small towns, and villages.

“At the same time, the focus is on how to give a new shape to the new developments that are taking place according to the needs of the society,” he added.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Digital Data Protection Bill, which the Central government is working on, was likely to be introduced in the upcoming Budget Session of 2023-24.

In the Monsoon Session of Parliament on August 3, 2022, the government had withdrawn the Data Protection Bill with the aim of bringing a comprehensive legislature. Union Telecom and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that the joint parliamentary committee which went through the original draft suggested 88 amendments to a bill of 91 sections, which led the government to decide that there was “no option” but to withdraw the original bill completely.

In November, the government brought another draft of the Digital Data Protection Bill and put it for public consultation. Presently, there are over 76 crore active internet users and over the next coming years this is expected to touch 120 crore.