India is one step closer to having its own data protection law after the Srikrishna Committee submitted its initial assessment and recommendations on data privacy and management last week in a 176-page report, as well a draft of the legislation on data protection titled Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018. Even as the recommendations continue to stir debate, technology companies, startups and industry bodies are united in their stance for a law that should safeguard customers and help accelerate India's fast growing digital economy.
Headed by retired Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna, the committee made several recommendations, which include jurisdiction of processing personal data, setting up an independent regulatory body for enforcing the data protection law and heavy penalties for violating this law, among other clauses. Moreover, this draft bill is expected to apply to data collected by private and government entities in India.
While it remains to be seen if the data protection bill finds its way to the upcoming monsoon session of the Indian Parliament for further discussion, the report’s recommendations suggest far-reaching ramifications for India's rapidly growing technology industry. In a billion-strong nation, there are nearly 500 million active internet users and India’s online market is second to China. Internet penetration has grown in the last five years, thanks to the growth of startups, e-commerce companies and technology offerings across industries.