06 Aug 2023: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

E. Editorials

Category: INDIAN POLITY

1. Digital Personal Data Protection Bill

Syllabus- Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure.

Prelims- Data Protection Board of India
Mains- Fundamental Rights, Right to Privacy, The Data Protection Bill 2023

Provisions

• Scope: The Data Protection Bill applies to the processing of personal data in India or for offering goods or services in India.
• Personal data: Personal data may be processed only with consent, except for legitimate uses such as getting services from the government, medical emergencies, etc.
• Data principal (DP): The Bill introduces duties and rights on a data principal (DP).
  • Data principals: Individuals whose personal data is being processed by a company or organization.
  • Rights: Data principals have the right to obtain information about their data, seek correction or erasure, nominate a representative, and file a grievance.
  • Duties: Data principals must not file false complaints, provide false or misleading information, or impersonate another person when interacting with companies or organizations that are processing their data. Violation of these can result in a fine of up to Rs. 10,000.
  • Right to grievance redressal: Data principals also have the right to file a grievance with the Data Protection Board of India (DPB) if they believe that their data has been mishandled.
• Data Fiduciaries (DF): Data fiduciaries (DFs) are entities determining the purpose and means of data processing. DFs must ensure the accuracy and completeness of data, build security safeguards, inform of data breaches, and erase data when necessary. Government entities are exempt from storage limitation and the right to erasure.
• Data Protection Board of India (DPB): The DPB will be established by the central government to monitor compliance with data protection laws, impose penalties, and hear grievances.
• Penalties: The bill specifies penalties of up to Rs. 250 crore for data breaches and non-compliance with child protection provisions.

Read more on Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022.

Issues

• Data breaches: Data breaches are becoming increasingly common in India. For example, in June 2023, personal details of vaccinated users were leaked from the CoWIN portal, and in July 2023, confidential records of SBI employees were leaked. Critics have questioned the lack of grievance redressal when leaks happen from government sources.
• Right to Information Act: The bill widens the scope of information that can be withheld under the Right to Information act under the garb of “information related to personal information”. This has implications on ensuring transparency and accountability of the government actions.
• Compensation: The provisions of compensating a user for breach of their data is not available.
• Third-party usage: DFs are also not mandated to share information on third party usage, duration of storage, etc. to the DPs.
• Personal data and sensitive personal data: The Bill fails to differentiate between “personal data” and “sensitive personal data”. In case of sensitive data such as biological and genetic data, enhanced protection might be needed to prevent identity theft, etc.
• Independence of DPB: The independence of DPB has been questioned by critics since all members of the DPB are appointed by the Union Government.

Also read CoWIN Data Leak.

Way Forward

• Alignment with GDPR: Some of the provisions can be aligned according to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) as seen in the EU.
• Independence of DPB: To ensure the independence of the Data Protection Board of India, their salary, allowances and terms of service should not be varied to their disadvantage post appointment.

Nut Graf: The Data Protection Bill of India proposes to protect personal data by requiring consent for processing, giving data principals certain rights, and establishing the Data Protection Board of India to oversee compliance. However, the bill has been criticized for lack of adequate protection of privacy,  its failure to provide adequate compensation for data breaches, and its lack of independence for the Data Protection Board of India.

2. Why are Rohini panel’s findings important?

Syllabus- Indian Constitution—Historical Underpinnings, Evolution, Features, Amendments, Significant Provisions and Basic Structure; Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.
Prelims- Fundamental Rights, Grounds for Reservation
Mains- Fundamental Rights, Sub-Categorisation of OBCs, Rohini Commission recommendations

Context

The Justice G.Rohini led Commission on the sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes groups has submitted its report to the Government. It was constituted in October 2017.

• Terms of Reference: 

• • The Justice Rohini Commission was asked to examine how evenly the benefits of reservation have been distributed among the different castes and communities included in the Central list of Other Backward Classes (OBCs).
  • To develop a scientific approach for sub-categorizing OBCs into smaller groups, based on factors such as their social and economic status.
  • To rationalize the Central OBC list by suggesting corrections and replacements in spellings of the different castes, communities, sub-castes, and synonyms in the Central List of OBCs and classify them into their respective sub-categories.

Read more on Sub category for OBC.

• Need for Sub Categorisation? 

• • Concerns that benefits of reservation are being utilised by a small number of caste groups. 
  • For example, according to some preliminary findings, 97% of all jobs and educational seats have gone to just 25% of all sub-castes classified as OBCs. 37% of the groups under the Central OBC list have zero representation in jobs and educational institutions.
  • The complete details of the report is yet to be released for the general public.

Also read Reservation demands: RSTV The Big Picuture.

Impact of findings ?

• The Commission’s findings will show the data on OBC communities that have availed benefits since reservation for them began in 1992.
• The data set will also show the changes, if any, in the socio-economic status of OBC communities that have historically been able to avail benefits.
• The data will have an impact on political parties who bank on votes from different communities. The issues of development or lack of it in different communities will now have data to justify.

Reasons for delay? 

• The Commission was initially given 12 weeks to submit its report, but the government kept giving it extensions.
• The government said that the Commission was taking  time because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it later said that the panel was still working on rationalising the Central OBC list.

Nut Graf: The Justice G. Rohini Commission has submitted its report on sub-categorization of OBCs. The report is yet to be released to the public, but it is expected to have a significant impact on the distribution of reservation benefits.