Latest news with #DPDP)Act
Economic Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
IAMAI flags ambiguities in data protection law; cautions impact on AI innovation
The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) flagged ambiguities related to handling personal data in the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, in a submission before the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY). The industry body said restrictions on using publicly available data for artificial intelligence (AI) training would increase compliance burdens on AI companies, hinder technological progress, and disproportionately affect startups and smaller AI firms. In the submission, IAMAI said the ambiguities 'surrounding the processing of publicly available personal data might pose practical challenges for AI companies, particularly those using large datasets for training their models.' For them to verify whether the publicly available data was voluntarily made available is 'practically unfeasible,' it added. 'Even where personal data is shared publicly to comply with a legal obligation, it may be re-shared or resurface online through various means well after the initial legal disclosure, making it difficult for AI companies to process such data,' IAMAI presented in its submission. IAMAI suggested amending the DPDP Act to remove obstacles to using publicly available personal data for AI training. As an interim measure, the government may consider exempting data fiduciaries from certain provisions of the DPDP Act when they are processing personal data solely for AI training or fine-tuning, it suggested. The DPDP Act is yet to be operationalised, after the ministry invited stakeholders' comments on the rules in January. Earlier this week, digital payment companies Google Pay, PhonePe, and Amazon Pay, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) sought exemption from provisions of the DPDP Act that require user consent for each transaction, citing increased compliance burden, especially severe for small platforms.
Business Standard
04-08-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
ETCISO Announces the 8th Annual Conclave 2025: Redefining Cyber Leadership for the Digital Age
PRNewswire New Delhi [India], August 4: As India grapples with a 47% surge in cyberattacks in 2025, including high-profile breaches affecting major financial institutions and critical infrastructure, cybersecurity leadership has never been more crucial. Against this backdrop, The Economic Times CISO (ETCISO) announces the 8th ETCISO Annual Conclave, taking place from September 18-21, 2025, at the Grand Hyatt, Goa. This year's theme, 'The CISO Imperative: Resilience, Agility, and Strategic Leadership', addresses the urgent need for cybersecurity leaders to drive organizational transformation while navigating an increasingly complex threat landscape. With India's cybersecurity market projected to reach $35 billion by 2025 and new Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act compliance deadlines approaching, the timing couldn't be more critical. The residential summit will convene 150+ Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), cybersecurity experts, policymakers, and innovators for four immersive days designed to deliver measurable strategic outcomes. The 2025 edition will offer focused tracks on emerging risks and future-ready frameworks, including: - AI-Powered Threat Defense - Leveraging artificial intelligence for proactive threat hunting while securing AI implementations across the enterprise - Zero Trust at Scale - Building zero trust architectures that support India's rapid digital transformation without compromising agility - Quantum-Ready Security - Preparing for quantum computing disruptions with practical implementation roadmaps - Board-Level Risk Communication - Translating technical risks into business impact metrics that drive C-suite investment - Hybrid Cloud Resilience - Securing complex multi-cloud environments while maintaining operational excellence - Regulatory Mastery - Navigating DPDP Act compliance, RBI guidelines, and emerging cybersecurity regulations - Talent Pipeline Development - Addressing India's 3.5 million cybersecurity skills gap through strategic workforce planning Unlike traditional conferences, the residential format creates an environment for deep strategic thinking and peer collaboration. The event features: - Executive War Games - Realistic breach simulations that test crisis leadership and decision-making - Panchayat-Style Strategic Sessions - Confidential peer exchanges for benchmarking and collaborative problem-solving - Innovation Experience Zone - Hands-on evaluation of emerging security technologies - CISO-to-Board Communication Labs - Practical workshops for effective risk presentation and stakeholder engagement - Regulatory Deep Dives - Expert-led sessions on compliance strategy and implementation Since 2018, the ETCISO Annual Conclave has established itself as India's premier cybersecurity leadership forum, directly influencing national cybersecurity policy and corporate security strategies. In its 8th edition, the ETCISO Annual Conclave continues to shape the future of cybersecurity leadership in India--where strategies are not just discussed, but forged.
The Wire
30-07-2025
- Politics
- The Wire
'Excessive Centralisation of Power': Lawyers, Activists, Journalists, MPs Express Fear Over DPDP Act
Law The organisers said that if the DPDP Act is enacted in its current form, activists, journalists, lawyers, political parties and organisations 'will become 'data fiduciaries' under the law'. New Delhi: A group of representatives from social movements, campaigns, civil society organisations, and including senior lawyers, retired judges, journalists, media and parliamentarians met for a day-long consultation on the implications of the controversial Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. The meeting was organised by the Roll Back RTI Amendments Campaign (comprising the National Campaign for Peoples' Right to Information (NCPRI) and 30+ campaigns and groups) and Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms (CJAR). The DPDP Act, the draft rules of which were notified in January this year, could curtail the freedom of the press and people's right to information, many have said, as it vests excessive powers in the Union government. Last week, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told the parliament that The draft rules received 6,915 inputs and comments from the public, firms and other stakeholders, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra. In a press release, the organisers expressed that the DPDP Act can have a chilling impact on activists, journalists, lawyers, political parties, groups and organisations 'who collect, analyse and disseminate critical information as they will become 'data fiduciaries' under the law'. 'The excessive centralisation of power in the central government, including the constitution of a government-controlled Data Protection Board with powers to levy penalties of up to 250 crore (which can be doubled up to Rs. 500 crore), raises concerns about the weaponisation of this law against those seeking accountability,' they said. The meeting was attended by Justice Madan Lokur, Justice Rekha Sharma, senior lawyers and advocates CU Singh, Prashanto Sen, Prashant Bhushan, Huzefa Ahmadi, Trideep Pais, Nitya Ramakrishnan, Nizam Pasha, Ritwick Dutta, Sarim Naved, Gautam Bhatia, Apar Gupta, Suroor Mander, Soutik Banerjee, Cheryl D'Souza and Shahrukh Alam. Also read: Media Under Attack: India's New Data Protection Law Senior journalists, the President of the Editor's Guild of India and the President and Vice-President of the Press Club of India also spoke of its impact on media and investigative reporting, while MPs including V. Sivadasm (CPIM), Raja Ram Singh (CPIML) and Rajkumar Raut (BAP) also joined the session. Representatives of various campaigns and social movements including the Right to Food Campaign, the National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, National Federation of Indian Women, Right to Education Campaign, talked about the challenges posed by the DPDP Act and how it will prevent public monitoring and scrutiny. RTI Activists including Anjali Bhardwaj, Nikhil Dey, Commodore Lokesh Batra, Jayaram, Bhaskar Prabhu, Praveer Peter, Amrita Johri and Rakshita Swamy flagged the severe dilution of the RTI Act through the DPDP Act. Economist Jayati Ghosh, former IAS officers and members of the Constitutional Conduct Group and Yashovardhan Azad, former Information Commissioner, CIC also attended the meeting. There was consensus that the DPDP Act, in its current form, is extremely problematic and the press release also stated that 'using the smoke screen of privacy and data protection, the government is diluting crucial rights'. Journalist bodies including the Editor's Guild of India and Press Club of India have earlier expressed fear that this law could end exposed corruption and silence whistleblowers, fundamentally altering India's media landscape. The issue also comes up as another significant threat has emerged regarding the weakening of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, due to an amendment brought through Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act, 2023. Section 44(3) of the DPDP Act amends the Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act by allowing government bodies to simply withhold 'personal information' without the safeguard provisions on public interest or other such exceptions. The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
Hans India
27-07-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Draft data protection act receives 6,915 inputs, says govt
New Delhi: The draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2025 has received 6,915 feedback/inputs from citizens and stakeholders, the government has informed. The DPDP Act is a comprehensive data privacy law to regulate the processing of digital personal data. It balances the rights of individuals to protect their personal data with the need for lawful data processing. 'The policies of government of India are aimed at ensuring a safe, trusted, and accountable cyberspace for all users. Capacity building and awareness are important components of the Government's IT security strategy,' said Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada, in the Rajya Sabha. Regular training programs are conducted across sectors to build IT security skills among officials and professionals. Public awareness campaigns such as Cyber Security Awareness Month and Safer Internet Day promote online safety, secure digital transactions and cyber hygiene, the minister added. CyberShakti programme, launched in October 2024, aims to build a skilled women workforce in cybersecurity. Under Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) programme, 3,637 workshops have been conducted, reaching over 8.2 lakh+ participants, including academia, law enforcement, government personnel, women, and the general public Also, multilingual awareness materials such as handbooks, videos, posters, and advisories (including on deepfakes) are widely disseminated. Some of the key measures taken by government to strengthen cybersecurity are the establishment of National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) for protection of critical information infrastructure in the country (Section 70A of IT Act, 2000); Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) designated as the national agency for responding to cyber security incidents (Section 70B of IT Act); National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) implemented by the CERT-In detects cybersecurity threats, facilitates coordination among different agencies by sharing with them the information to mitigate cybersecurity threats. The DPDP Act provides a comprehensive framework for the protection of digital personal data of individuals while making Data Fiduciaries accountable for personal data breaches. Data fiduciaries are required to implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to prevent personal data breaches by taking reasonable security safeguards.
The Hindu
25-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Media bodies urge Centre to keep journalistic work outside the ambit of the DPDP Act
The Press Club of India (PCI), along with 21 other press bodies, has submitted a joint memorandum urging Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to keep the professional work of journalists outside the scope of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023. The memorandum has been endorsed by over 1,000 journalists and photojournalists from across the country, the PCI said on Wednesday (June 25, 2025). Mr. Vaishnaw is the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting; Electronics and Information Technology; and Railways. The DPDP Bill was introduced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. 'The concerns expressed in the memorandum were put together by the PCI after a close study of various definitions and provisions of the Act with legal and personal data experts. It was found that the Act comes directly against the journalists' fundamental right to work granted by Article 19 (1) (a) and (g) of the Constitution,' the PCI's statement said. 'In the memorandum, the 22 press bodies located in various States expressed deep concern at the Ministry bringing journalistic work under its ambit, even though it was kept out at the drafting stage of the Bill,' it said, adding that the memorandum was submitted through a senior official of the Press Information Bureau. The memorandum is part of a signature campaign initiated by the PCI in May 2025 to urge the Ministry to bring about the crucial change in the Act, 'so that it doesn't hamper the work of reporters and photojournalists across print, online, and electronic media', the statement said.
