Govt Likely To Release Draft Data Protection Rules Within A Month: Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The government is likely to release draft rules under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act within a month, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday.

The minister said the government has first worked on digital implementation of the Act and framed rules accordingly.

"The framework is ready, and the draft rules for consultation are expected to be released within a month," Vaishnaw told reporters here.

He said the final draft of the rules was reviewed last week, and it is expected to be in the public domain within a month. The minister said the language of the rules will be very simple.

The rules will be framed after consultation and will need to be placed before Parliament before implementation.

The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill was approved by Parliament on August 9, 2023 -- about six years after the Supreme Court declared the 'Right to Privacy' as a fundamental right.

The Act has provisions to curb the misuse of individuals' data by online platforms and introduces several compliance requirements for the collection and processing of personal data and provisions for up to Rs 250 crore penalty for any data breach.

The Act, however, gives the government powers to exempt state agencies from the law.

The law applies to the processing of digital personal data in India, where the personal data is either collected in digital form or in a non-digitised format and subsequently digitised. The Act defines 'personal data' broadly to include any data about an individual who is identifiable or in relation to such data.