Joint Panel on Data Protection Bill can submit its report by 15 March

A Joint Committee of Parliament examining the Personal Data Protection Bill can now submit its report in the week to March 15 — the first week of the second part of the ongoing budget session.

The second part of the budget session begins on 8 March. The first part ends on 13 February.

Meenakshi Lekhi of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved a motion in Lok Sabha that the extension of time granted to the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, by the House on 23 Sept. 2020 to present the report up to the second week of Winter Session, 2020, may be treated as extension up to last day of first week of second part of Budget Session, 2021.

The motion moved by Lekhi was passed by a voice vote.

The panel has 20 members from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha.

The Winter Session of Parliament did not take place due to coronavirus.

Opposition parties had criticised the central government for a growing “snooping industry” under its watch and alleged that the bill violated the Constitution of India. Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had refuted the charge.