In the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, which was passed on Friday, the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her’ were used to refer to people regardless of gender, marking a first for the Indian government and legislative history of the nation. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the nation’s Union Minister for Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology, has made the bill available for public comment.
The federal minister stated, ‘We have tried to utilise the word’she’ and ‘her’ throughout the entire Bill instead of ‘he’ and ‘his’ with the ideology (Indian) Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration operates. Speaking to the press, he noted that this ‘innovative’ tactic had been attempted in the law.
The words ‘her’ and ‘she’ have been used throughout this Act to refer to people of any gender, according to a provision of the proposed legislation. The draft’s explanatory note also said that this was consistent with the government’s belief in the empowerment of women.
A joint committee of the Indian parliament earlier withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill in August after making at least 81 revisions to the 99-section legislation. Following concerns from the opposition Congress and other parties who claimed that it infringed individuals’ basic rights, it was initially submitted in Lok Sabha (the lower house) in December 2019.
The proposed legislation intends to safeguard internet users and develop a framework for handling digital personal data of people in a way that respects their right to privacy. The deadline for stakeholders to submit their opinions to the government is December 17, and they have until then to do so. The law also emphasises the development of a secure and reliable digital environment in India.
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