Government likely to release new draft of data protection bill in a week for public comments

The government is likely to release new draft of data protection bill for public comments in a week, according to two government sources. The government had in early August withdrawn the personal data protection bill, which was first presented in late 2019.

“The draft is expected to be issued in a week for public comment,” an official source told PTI.

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.