National Privacy Policy Of India

Right to privacy bill of India 2011 has been suggested for many times in the year 2011. However, till now we do not have any conclusive draft in this regard that can be introduced in that parliament of India. In fact, we are still waiting for a final and conclusive proposed draft right to privacy bill 2011 of India that can be discussed in the parliament.

Privacy rights in India in the information age are too important to be ignored. Surprisingly, Indian government is deliberately keeping privacy protection at distance even if the constitution of India protects privacy rights of Indian citizens/persons.

For instance, India has launched Projects like Aadhar, National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID), Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Central Monitoring System (CMS), Centre for Communication Security Research and Monitoring (CCSRM), etc. None of them are governed by any Legal Framework and none of them are under Parliamentary Scrutiny.

Lack of privacy law has already stalled Natgrid whereas other projects like unique identification project of India or Aadhar project of India are simply unconstitutional by their very existence and being violative of privacy rights as conferred under Indian constitution.

Right to privacy bill of India 2011, along with a dedicated data protection law in India is needed. We already have an anti consumer telemarketing policy of India that openly allows violation of consumers privacy and peace.

In short, the unwritten, but widely followed, national privacy policy of India is not only negative in nature but is also violative of various provisions of Indian constitution. Time has come to enact a good techno legal national privacy policy of India.

Cloud Computing Policy Of India

Cloud computing is the buzz word in India these days. However, the crucial question is whether cloud computing is a viable option in India? Cloud computing is based upon essentials like privacy protection, data protection and data security. India has none.

There is no cyber security in India and even cyber security policy of India is missing. There is no privacy law in India. There is no data protection law in India. And there is no data security law in and cyber security law in India. In short, there is no legal framework for cloud computing in India at all. With these negative developments India should not use software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing for crucial governmental services.

In fact, cloud computing in India is a new landmine for privacy in India. For instance, in order to safeguard its commercial interests in India, Research in Motion’s (RIM) Blackberry has established a framework that would allow Indian intelligence agencies to monitor contents on its messenger service. Interestingly, this e-surveillance arrangement is cloud computing based and this shows how vulnerable cloud based systems can be for violating civil liberties.

India is not ready for cloud computing and in order to effectively use the benefits of cloud computing and saas we must have a cloud computing policy of India. This cloud computing policy must clearly incorporate essential civil liberties safeguards, lawful interception law related principles, e-surveillance policy of India, cyber security policy of India and other similar policies.

Presently, India is giving too much importance to commercial interests and e-surveillance activities and this may hamper the growth of cloud computing in India. It is high time to formulate effective cloud computing policy of India.