The past year saw significant developments in India’s data protection landscape. The Personal Data Protection Bill (PDP Bill) was introduced in Parliament in December 2019, and is under consideration by a Joint Parliamentary Committee. It aims to set out the governance framework for personal data and establish a Data Protection Authority for the purpose. Non-personal data, which does not relate to the data of identified individuals, remains outside the ambit of the PDP Bill. The Union Ministry of Information and Technology (MeitY) also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Kris Gopalakrishnan (Committee) to suggest pathways for the regulation of Non- Personal Data (NPD). In this introductory brief we introduce the concept of NPD, trace related developments, and suggest the contours of subsequent research.
Attribution: Mohit Chawdhry, “Non-Personal Data: Policy and Regulatory Considerations,” Policy Brief No. 202, May 2020, Esya Centre.