Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Saturday that the drafting of rules under the data protection legislation is in an advanced stage, with industry-wide consultations planned soon.
Vaishnav recently resumed the role of minister for railways on the 11th of June for the second term along with taking charge of ministry of Information and Broadcasting for the first time and the ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
“Whatever extensive consultations will be required, we will do those. We won’t rush through. We will prefer as consultative a process as we can, like you saw in the Telecom Bill and the DPDP Act,” he said.
He said the implementation of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act will be based on the 'digital-by-design' principle. This initiative paves the way for a new way of working, with the creation of a 'digital by design' platform also progressing concurrently. The platform or portal will be developed in-house by National Information Centre and/or Digital India Corporation.
The DPDP Act, a long-awaited data protection law, received presidential assent last year but its implementation is delayed partly due to the corresponding rules not yet being notified. It aims to establish comprehensive rules and standards for the collection, processing, storage, and sharing of personal data by organizations and entities operating in India. Initially introduced in 2022, the DPDP Bill was revised and subsequently passed by both houses of the Indian parliament in August 2023.
He also stated that under the Modi 3.0 government, employment and overall production in electronics manufacturing should double, adding that the focus in term 3 remains the same and this is the time to boost up the ecosystem and instill a sense of positivity across all industries.
India's electronics production is currently estimated at approximately $125-130 billion, with employment figures ranging between 20 to 25 lakh. “In this term, we should be easily doubling it to about 50 lakh in terms of employment number and $200–300 billion in total production,” Vaishnaw added.
