On July 24, 2022, the Financial Express published an article on Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Indian Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, noting that the introduction of the Indian Data Protection Bill (the “Bill”) before Parliament will be delayed by a few months. The Bill was expected to be tabled during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which commenced on July 18, 2022.

The Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment to finalizing the Bill but noted that “[i]f we have to make a choice between doing something quickly versus doing something right, with a few months delay, we will choose the latter.” The Minister also noted that the government is currently finalizing the obligations that companies subject to the Bill will have to adhere. Furthermore, the Bill is currently undergoing ministry scrutiny and no additional consultations on the Bill will be undertaken.

As we previously reported, the Indian Joint Parliamentary Committee responsible for reviewing the Bill issued its report in November 2021. If passed, the Bill would constitute the first comprehensive data protection law in India and will introduce sweeping requirements for organizations.