What Does The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 Contain?

After a long wait, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 was presented in the Lok Sabha by Union Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw introduced. The bill, which brings India closer to having its first legislation that addresses citizens' privacy and establishing guidelines for how individuals' data can be used by private or government entities, was dissented by the opposition members, but the industry has welcomed the move. Manish Sehgal, Partner, Deloitte India, said: “The much-anticipated privacy bill (referred to as Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023), was tabled in the Parliament. Once enacted, it will enable individuals (referred to as Data Principals) to govern their own personal (digital) data, and will drive enterprises (referred as Data Fiduciary) to process personal data of individuals in a lawful manner, for specific purposes only.” Sehgal added: in view of the bill’s extra-territorial coverage, enterprises based outside India serving individuals in India will also be expected to adhere to the provisions of this bill once enacted. Enterprises will have to review the current ways of working especially for the personal data of individuals such as their employees, customers, merchants, vendors, etc. to be able to honour the rights that individuals may exercise, such as the right to access, update, erase their personal data etc. Non-adherence of obligation listed in the bill may attract sanctions and commercial penalty as high as Rs 250 crore. Shahana Chatterji, Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co says DPDP Bill strikes an important balance in protecting users’ rights and promoting innovation in digital businesses.