New Delhi: The Modi government on Wednesday withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 from the Lok Sabha, eight months after they introduced it in December. Withdrawing the legislation, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the Bill was withdrawn after the Joint Parliamentary Committee, formed to examine it, recommended 81 amendments among the Bill’s 99 sections. Vaishnaw tweeted that “... a new bill will be presented for public consultation.”

Soon after Vaishnaw moved to withdraw the Bill, as it was not listed initially in the business and was brought in as part of a supplementary agenda, he issued a statement. “Considering the report of the JCP, a comprehensive legal framework is being worked upon. Hence, in the circumstances, it is proposed to withdraw ‘The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019’ and present a new bill that fits into the comprehensive legal framework,” the statement read.   

IT ministry officials told DH that two of the main concerns were that the Bill had overshot its purpose, and that it was detrimental to the startup ecosystem. “The Bill has been found to be very discouraging to startups and the rapidly growing innovative ecosystem,” an official said. “The Bill’s architecture and design is from 2018 – when an overall approach to the startups and data/digital economy was not envisaged.” 

Minister of state for IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that a comprehensive framework of global standard laws will replace the Bill, with sections on digital privacy laws suited for contemporary and future challenges.