Govt Should Tune PDP Bill With Post Pandemic World: Experts

Countries around the world are coming around on the need to address privacy, India is no exception. Data protection law in India is currently facing many problems and resentments due to the absence of a proper legislative framework. On the flip side, the Personal Data Protection (PDP) bill is in process and but how effective it will be? How should a legal framework for data protection balance the imperatives of protecting the privacy and ensuring innovation and productivity growth?

To discuss the sensitive issue of data & privacy, the panel had the stalwarts from the legal domain, Pavan Duggal, Founder, Pavan Duggal Associates; Sajai Singh, Partner, JSA; Amar Kumar Sundram, General Counsel- Sr. (VP Legal), NEC Corporation India & Vasudha Mukherjee (Moderator).

When asked about India’s approach towards privacy protection, Duggal, said, “India needs to have a holistic approach. The government should not only rely upon a pre-COVID world for the policy but to address the post-pandemic issues as well. Last year, the world has lost more than six trillion dollars, thanks to data and cyber security breaches. And this year, the figure is expected to grow to more than 8 trillion US Dollars.”

“Moreover, the elements of the interaction between data privacy and data protection have to be more appropriately addressed whether intrinsically connected with this entire issue. It'll require more clarity of vision amongst policymakers on how they want to effectively deal with data protection. India has to realize that it's sitting on a humongous volume of data, and in case our regulations of the data frameworks are not adequate or sufficient, we as the nation will like to suffer apart from our data Industries being prejudicial impact.” he added.

Explaining the dire need for data protection law in India, Sundram affirmed, “It’s already delayed and we need a strong data privacy law at the earliest. The intermediary laws also need to be interposing with the data privacy laws. Data is a global phenomenon. Therefore, challenges associated with the data are not India-specific now. The government should make India-specific provisions but at the top of it, we also need to think about it from a global perspective. Geography has become history as Data has no boundaries.”

“The flow of data will also be a major concern for the government. India is in need of comprehensive legislation around various aspects of data. The Data Protection Officer should be provided with legal importance under certain circumstances. Moreover, every corporate should now invest more in Data management as data is becoming the core business.” he added.

When asked about the expectations from the PDP bill, Singh, explained, “There should be a single statute that legislates data protection to ensure clarity and coherence. Also, there should be an independent enforcement body to oversee the implementation. Moreover, there should be a broad framework of laws to enable smooth adoption of modifications because technology does change which is in line with the changing needs of technology and innovation.  And finally, there should be an advisory body for an effective understanding and implementation of the laws, which helps the enforcement body.”

“Flow of data is really crucial and the government is trying to address is the concept of protecting personal data on the one hand and also unlocking the data economy on the other. So it will be a complex task for the government in a developing nation” he added.