We’re tracking all the developments related to internet and technology in India during the Budget Session of the Parliament. This will include all proposed legislation, bills listed or pending, and questions (related to technology and internet ecosystem) asked in both houses each day of the Parliament. In this session, we’re watching out for the Personal Data Protection Bill and notification about the Intermediary Liability Rules amendment, both which the Minister for Electronics and IT, R.S. Prasad, has said are his key priorities. Here’s a refresher on the present state of the internet ecosystem in India:

(Scroll down for updates on legislation and questions asked in Parliament.)

Some important dates in this session:

Legislation

Bills listed for introduction in the Lok Sabha’s Budget Session

Title Key objectives Current status
The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019
  • Bill to replace the Aadhaar ordinance of February 2019
  • Allows private usage of Aadhaar, provides for offline Aadhaar authentication, and gives overarching powers to the UIDAI.
  • Here’s an explainer
  • Passed in Rajya Sabha on July 8
  • Passed in Lok Sabha on July 4
  • Introduced in Lok Sabha on June 24 by Minister for IT, and Law & Justice RS Prasad

 
Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
  • To govern data protection and regulation in the country
  • Read highlights from the first draft here, also a liveblog here.
 Listed for Introduction, Consideration, and Passing
The Information Technology (Amendment) Bill, 2019
  • Amends the Intermediary Liability Rules, 2011
  • Places greater legal responsibility on internet platforms for the actions of their users, among other things
  • Here’s a summary
 Listed for Introduction, Consideration, and Passing
The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2019
Read the 2017 version of the bill here		 Introduced in the Lok Sabha on July 15th

 

Bills introduced in Rajya Sabha, pending with Standing Committee

Title Key objectives Current status
The Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, 2019
  • Proposals to combat piracy, introduces punitive measures
  • Introduced in Rajya Sabha, then referred to Standing Committee on IT on February 22, 2019
  • May be taken up for consideration and passing if Committee Report is presented to Lok Sabha, and the Bill, as passed by Rajya Sabha, is laid on the Lok Sabha

 

Questions asked in Parliament

We will be reporting all Parliament questions related to the internet and technology ecosystem. The first day that questions related to internet and technology were asked was June 21, even though the Parliament commenced on June 17; the first few days saw newly-elected MPs being sworn in.