by sflc_admin    |    May 12, 2016

SFLC.in, along with the Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament is organizing a panel discussion on ‘The Need For a Dedicated Privacy Legislation In India: Next Steps’ on 12th May 2016 from 4pm to 7pm at Constitution Club of India, New Delhi.

The recent debate on the contentious Aadhaar Act saw the issue of privacy and data protection take centre stage. But inspite of the success of the Digital India initiative, the progress on the privacy front has not kept pace. As the government comes up with  initiatives of collecting large volume of citizen data, rolling out internet services to villages and integrating subsidies to biometric data, there is an urgent need for an overarching comprehensive law in India on privacy and data protection. Although, the efforts at drafting a privacy legislation are underway since 2011, a concrete bill has not been laid in front of the Parliament for consideration.

Keeping this in mind, Member of Parliament, Rajeev Chandrasekhar and SFLC.in are organizing a panel discussion on the theme of ‘The Need for a Dedicated Privacy Legislation in India.’ This discussion aims to conduct a stakeholder conversation with academia, civil society, private sector, and government associates, regarding the drafting of India’s privacy law, and the vital components that should be included therein.  While learning from the global experiences in privacy regimes, we hope to pursue a nuanced discussion with respect to the extent and limitations of collection, retention and disclosure of personal information of citizens, along with measures that should permit a certain level of indulgence by the State for reasons of national security, prevention of acts of terrorism, and in situation of emergencies.

Considering the heightened global debate surrounding the sharing of personal data with state actors for purposes of national security and protection of state, this discussion will have a special emphasis on the safeguards that should find place in the Indian privacy legislation to balance the concerns of national security with that of a citizen’s privacy.

There are two panels:

1. Balancing the concerns of national security & safeguarding a citizen’s privacy
With the background of implications of initiatives like Aadhaar operating in the absence of privacy legislation, thediscussion will focus on the safegaurds needed for protecting the ciitizen’s privacy rights

2. Taking from global experiences, formulating the essential elements for India’s privacy framework
A look into the privacy laws of other countries, and a thorough discussion on the necessary inclusions in India’s privacy legislation.

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