New Data Protection Bill To Be Ready Soon, Says Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

During the Monsoon session of Parliament last month, the government announced the withdrawal of The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

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New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday that the government would soon introduce a new data protection bill after having withdrawn an earlier version, ANI reported. During the Monsoon session of Parliament last month, Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had announced the withdrawal of The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, in the Lok Sabha.

Speaking at the India Ideas Summit organised by the US-India Business Council, Sitharaman said, "The (IT) minister has been working very diligently and has assured the new bill will be ready soon. We'll soon have a new Data Privacy Bill, which will be a product of consultations and will address every such concern most of us had on the Privacy Bill."

The new Bill would be comprehensive enough to address all issues as consultations have happened both within India and also with experts from outside, the minister further said.

The withdrawn Data Protection Bill had proposed restrictions on the use of personal data without the explicit consent of citizens. It had also sought to provide the government with powers to give exemptions to its probe agencies from the provisions of the Bill -- a move that was objected to by the Opposition MPs.

On tackling inflation, Sitharaman said, "Jobs, equitable wealth distribution & ensuring that India is still on the path of growth are our top red-letter priorities. Inflation is not red-lettered as we have shown in the last few months, we were able to bring it to some manageable level."

The Union Finance Minister also noted that digital revolution in the country offered investment opportunities for the United States. "India's Open Network for Digital Commerce has revolutionised the retail and manufacturing sector," said Nirmala Sitharaman according to the news agency Reuters. She added that the revolution offered business opportunities to multinational companies.

In April, Sitharaman had assured investors that the government would address any possible pain points to encourage investments in the country. Addressing a roundtable on 'Investing in India's Digital Revolution' in San Francisco, the minister encouraged constant engagement with investors to understand and address their concerns.

The Finance Minister said she was open to receive suggestions, understand pain points and offer necessary redressal wherever possible.