DPDP, Telecom Bills to be cleared in Monsoon session, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

He said that the prime minister has given a very clear target of creating a comprehensive legal regulatory framework and the entire exercise, including the three bills, Digital India, DPDP and Indian Telecommunication Bill 2022, should be completed within a period of 14-16 months.

According to an official notice on December 17, the Ministry of Electronics and IT extended the last date for receiving public comments on the draft digital DPDP Bill till January 2, 2023.

Meanwhile, speaking at the same event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said India will be a big export economy and it needs to create a balance between safeguarding citizens and enabling companies to innovate with its framework. The company is focusing on startups from India and out of its $300 million for the startups, around one-fourth will be invested in entities that are led by women, he added.

The company had launched $10 billion (about Rs 75,000 crore) to make access to the internet affordable. Through Google India Digitisation Fund, the company bought a 7.73 per cent stake in Jio for $4.5 billion and a 1.2 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel for $700 million.

Pichai, is on his visit to India after a gap of around three-and-a-half years. He met President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and held a joint session with Union IT and Telecom Minister Aswhini Vaishnaw. He said during each visit he notices that the sophistication of the Indian startup ecosystem is measurably improving and Indian startups like Glance are getting noticed worldwide. “There is no better time to do a start-up than the current moment. Even though we are working through a macro-economic moment like this. Companies like Google were created in moments of downturn. I think I am very bullish about it over time,” Pichai said. He said that the technology is working at a big scale, which calls for framing responsible and balanced regulation.

“Given the scale and technology leadership it (India) will have, it’s important to make sure you are balancing, putting in safeguards for people. You’re creating an innovative framework, so that companies can innovate on top of a certainty in the legal framework.

“I think it is an important moment in time. India will also be a big export economy. It will benefit from an open and connected internet and getting that balance right will be important,” Pichai said. In July 2020, Google had announced plans to invest $10 billion in India over next five to seven years asit looks to help accelerate adoption of digital services in the key overseas market.

With PTI