Govt’s draft data protection Bill proposes hefty fine for violation

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) Friday released the revamped draft data protection Bill, three months after withdrawing a previous version that had alarmed big technology companies and the civil society.

The new Bill now being called the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, has provisions on ‘purpose limitations’ around data collection, grounds for collecting and processing personal data, relaxation on cross-border data flows, and imposes significant penalties on businesses for violating provisions of the Bill.

The new measure is up for public consultation until December 17, and the final version is expected to be tabled in the Budget session of Parliament next year.