Data Protection and Telecom Bills To Be Passed Next Year: Telecom Minister Vaishnaw

The government expects that Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and Telecommunication Bill would be passed in Parliament by July-August next year, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday.
     
While speaking at the Google For India event, the IT and telecom minister said that the Digital India Bill will also be floated in a month for public consultation.
     
The government has closed initial consultation on the Indian Telecommunications Bill 2022 which proposes to bring internet-based messaging and calling apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal etc under regulatory framework.
     
The consultation is going on over the draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill.
     
"The two bills, which have been put up for consultation, should be completed by July-August. These should pass the Parliament," Vaishnaw said.
     
While speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the event, the minister said the two bills are expected to be cleared by Parliament by August.
     
The minister added that under the Telecommunication Bill, the government will be coming up with light touch regulation with focus on user's protection.
     
He said that the prime minister has given a very clear target of creating a comprehensive legal regulatory framework and the entire exercise, including the three bills, Digital India, DPDP and Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022, should be completed within a period of 14-16 months.