Data Protection bill approved by the cabinet

The Cabinet on December 4, 2019 approved Data Protection bill to be tabled in Lok Sabha. The bill lays down legal framework to preserve sanctity in data sharing. The Draft of the bill was released by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in 2018.

Key features of the bill

The bill provides rules for collection, storage and handling of personal data. It regulates the processing of personal data of individuals incorporated in India and abroad. The bill makes it compulsory for the collecting authority to store the data within the territory of India.

The bill provides exemptions for processing of data that are related to legal proceedings and data that are in the interest of national security. A DPA (Data Protection Authority) is to be set up under the bill.

Data Types

The bill divides data into three types namely critical, general and sensitive. The sensitive data are the data that are related to passwords, health, finances, religion, biometric and sexual orientation. The bill allows the sensitive data to be processed outside India with the consent from the provider. Critical data are those data that the government uses once in a while and are allowed to be handled within the country alone. The rest of the data that are non-critical and non-sensitive are categorized as general data.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2019