IT Rules amendments to come in the next few days: Rajeev Chandrasekhar

The amendments to the Information Technology Rules, 2021 will be brought in the next few days, Minister of State for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on September 7.

The minister, at an event organised by the US-India Business Council (USIBC), said that a series of new legislation will be brought out in the next few months such as a revised bill on data protection, the Digital India Act, and a data governance framework.

"You will see these being rolled out in quick succession over the next 3-4 months. However, they will be subject to intense stakeholder consultation," said Chandrasekhar.

"It will be a framework that will make India succeed in the 'techade'. These new laws will supersede current rules. If there are any contradictions with earlier laws, they will be amended or repealed," he added.

In the proposed amendment to the IT Rules 2021, government-established grievance appellate committees were proposed because the Centre felt that the current grievance redressal mechanism was not working properly.

However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) clarified later that it was also open to the formation of an industry-established self regulatory body.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported that the industry and the Indian government had been exploring the idea of establishing internal appellate committees at intermediaries, not just grievance appellate committees or a self regulatory body.

"Our approach (to technology policy) is very common sensical. It is very much focused on the direction of our country. Technology is going to be a big enabler of expanding the economy. It would be 25 percent of the GDP by 2026," Chandrasekhar said at the event.

"The current legislation, which is the IT Act, was enacted in the 2000s. We will enact a new legislative framework that will encourage more start-up, enable more innovation," he added.