Draft data protection bill: Key points for companies

Following an increase in personal data theft and other digital crimes, a draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, was submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology by a committee of experts chaired by retired justice BN Srikrishna on 27 July.

The proposed data protection framework was prompted by the case of Justice KS Puttaswamy (Retd) & Anr v Union of India & Ors (2017), in which the Supreme Court held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right, subject to certain reasonable restrictions, thus striking a balance between protecting the interests of individuals and the legitimate use of data by the state and the private sector. Corporate entities automating workflows and enhancing internal and external collaboration need to implement, evaluate and accordingly update certain processes in order to comply with the proposed data protection law.

Deepak Sabharwal is the managing partner of Deepak Sabharwal & Associates.