Digital Personal Data Protection Bill becomes Act with President's assent
The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill has received President Droupadi Murmu's approval and is now officially an Act. The legislation provides individuals the right to protect their data. It makes consent mandatory for data processing and establishes Data Protection Board (DPB) to monitor compliance and address grievances. Penalties can reach up to Rs. 250 crore for misuse or failure to safeguard user data.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared the news on X
The government aims to enforce the Act within 10 months
The DPDP Act outlines the proper handling of user data and grants individuals the right to rectify their information. The government intends to enforce the Act within 10 months. It aims to establish a DPB to address grievances for times when companies fail to resolve individual complaints. In case of data breaches, companies must report the incident to DPB and notify the affected user.
The government can exempt state agencies from the law
The DPDP Act defines personal data as any information by which an individual can be identified. It applies to personal data collected digitally or data that is initially obtained in a non-digitized format and is later digitized. The Act emphasizes both the right to protect personal data and necessity for lawful processing. It empowers the government to exempt state agencies from the Act's provisions.
