There are some very strong punitive measures in Data Priootection BIll, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.
The amended Digital Personal Data Protection Bill introduced in parliament has a provision of upto Rs 250 crore penalty for every data breach, Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar told NDTV in an exclusive interview today.
"If the board determines on conclusion of an inquiry that breach of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder by a person is significant, it may, after giving the person an opportunity of being heard, impose such monetary penalty specified in the schedule," reads the bill.
"The misuse and exploitation of data that is happening today -- there will be a complete bar on it," said Mr Chandrasekhar.
The Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology has conducted detailed discussions with experts and stakeholders to plug the loopholes before the revise bill was drawn up.
"Strict provisions have been included in the law to fix accountability of the government or private companies," Mr Chandrasekhar said.
"There are some very strong punitive measures. Rs 250 crore penalty for every breach to the platform from where the breach takes place. So imagine if data 1,000 people are breached, how much does the amount come to," he added.
The new bill, he said, is meant to ""make the data of crores of digital citizens of the country more secure and protect their privacy".
The bill aims to make entities such as internet companies, mobile apps, and business houses more accountable and answerable about the collection, storage and processing of data of citizens as part of the Right to Privacy. Its provisions also enable the Centre to block access to content in the interest of the people.
"This new Bill, after it is passed by Parliament, will protect the rights of all citizens, allow innovation economy to expand and permit the government lawful n legitimate access in national security and emergencies like pandemics and earthquakes etc," he had tweeted earlier today, while explaining the features of the amended bill.
The bill was introduced today amid much protest from the members of the Opposition, who have alleged that it turns the country into a surveillance state.
Senior Congress leader Manish Tewari has said the government might get the Digital Data Protection Bill classified as a money bill – a claim the government has refuted.
"I suggest the Opposition discuss this bill. If they have any suggestions, we are open to listening. I'm surprise that they started protesting during the introduction of the bill today. I carefully heard their objections today and it is clear to me that none of them have read the bill," Mr Chandrasekhar told NDTV.