Standing committee on IT says DPDP Bill should be enacted into law at the earliest to safeguard citizens' data

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New Delhi: The standing committee on communications and IT has said in its report on citizens data security and privacy, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, that the digital personal data protection (DPDP) bill should be the main legislation for data handling and privacy and should be enacted into a law at the earliest to safeguard citizens' data and their privacy. “The Committee, in no uncertain words stress the urgent necessity for the early enactment of a robust and all-encompassing legislation that effectively safeguards citizens' data and privacy," it said.

“The Committee also wishes to caution the Ministry about the judicious use of rule-making powers and emphasizes the importance of employing them responsibly and with utmost care," it added. The committee which met twice after the bill was introduced in November 2022, said it made recommendations based on the submissions made by the ministry of electronics and information technology during these meetings and not on the actual bill, triggering controversy since doing so was not permissible by law.

The DPDP bill has not been shared with the committee and is yet to be introduced in Parliament. A bill can be referred to a Parliament committee only after it has been introduced in Parliament.

The committee report includes a dissent note from member John Brittas, Rajya Sabha MP, who has said that the recommendations of the committee in the draft report should be considered as void and are beyond the powers of the standing committee as per the rules, which legally bar the committee from examining the bills that are yet to be introduced. Minister of state for electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Tuesday, in response to reports based on Brittas’ statement that the