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Science and technologyCommittees2017

Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee

Recommended a comprehensive data protection law.

Written by Pratidin; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work

Its draft bill preceded the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

Justice B.N. Srikrishna presenting his committee's report on Telangana to the Home Minister; he later chaired the data protection committee.
Justice B.N. Srikrishna presenting his committee's report on Telangana to the Home Minister; he later chaired the data protection committee. Ministry of Home Affairs, GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons
Practise this in the app: flashcards, quiz and a timed answer
Prelims

Quick recall

Who chaired the committee?
Retired Justice B.N. Srikrishna.
What did it draft?
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018.
What regulator did it propose?
A Data Protection Authority.
What did it say about data localisation?
Critical personal data should be stored in India.
Which law finally passed?
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Which ruling prompted the committee?
Puttaswamy (2017).

Asked before in UPSC

Recurring theme: Right to privacy and data protection

Mains
  1. 2026 · GS2 · 10 marks

    Right to privacy relating to self-identity is very dear to every human being and well protected under Article 21 of the Constitution. In this context, examine the effect of the amendment in 2026, to the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019.

    Privacy as informational self-determination, the principle the Srikrishna report built on, applies to identity data.

  2. 2024 · GS3 · 10 marks

    Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

    The 2023 Act is the end point of the process the Srikrishna report began in 2018; compare what was kept and dropped.

  3. 2024 · GS2 · 15 marks

    Right to privacy is intrinsic to life and personal liberty and is inherently protected under Article 21 of the constitution. Explain. In this reference discuss the law relating to D.N.A. testing of child in the womb to establish its paternity.

    The committee was set up in 2017 alongside the Puttaswamy privacy litigation; its report turns Article 21 privacy into a data protection framework.

  4. 2023 · GS3 · 10 marks

    Introduce the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI). How does AI help clinical diagnosis? Do you perceive any threat to privacy of the individual in the use of AI in the healthcare?

    Health data was treated as sensitive personal data in the Srikrishna draft; use it for the privacy part.

  5. 2018 · GS3 · 15 marks

    Data security has assumed significant importance in the digitized world due to rising cyber-crimes. The Justice B. N. Srikrishna Committee Report addresses issues related to data security. What, in your view, are the strengths and weaknesses of the Report relating to protection of personal data in cyber space?

    A direct question on the committee's report: consent, data fiduciaries, localisation and the data protection authority.

Prelims
  1. 2024 · Prelims

    Under which of the following Articles of the Constitution of India, has the Supreme Court of India placed the Right to Privacy? (a) Article 15 (b) Article 16 (c) Article 19 (d) Article 21

    Repeat Prelims theme: Article 21 privacy after Puttaswamy (2017).

  2. 2018 · Prelims

    Right to Privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty. Which of the following in the Constitution of India correctly and appropriately imply the above statement? (a) Article 14 and the provisions under the 42nd Amendment to the Constitution (b) Article 17 and the Directive Principles of State Policy in Part IV (c) Article 21 and the freedoms guaranteed in Part III (d) Article 24 and the provisions under the 44th Amendment to the Constitution

    The constitutional basis of privacy that the committee's data protection framework rests on.

The basics

Why it matters

The Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee (2017-18) drafted India's first comprehensive data protection bill after the Puttaswamy privacy ruling. Its work eventually led to the DPDP Act, 2023.

2018
Year the committee submitted its draft bill
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018.

From committee to law

The bill went through several versions.

Data protection law
  1. 2017Puttaswamy privacy ruling; committee set up
  2. 2018Srikrishna draft bill
  3. 2019PDP Bill introduced; sent to JPC
  4. 2022Bill withdrawn
  5. 2023DPDP Act passed

You now know

  • Set up in 2017; chaired by retired Justice B.N. Srikrishna.
  • Submitted the draft Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018.
  • Proposed a Data Protection Authority and data localisation for critical data.
  • Led, after revisions, to the DPDP Act, 2023.

Go deeper

In one line: The Srikrishna Committee laid the groundwork for India's data protection law.

Why it matters for UPSC

Data protection links rights, technology and governance.

The core idea

It balanced individual rights with innovation, proposing consent and a regulator. Key debates were Data localisation and State exemptions under the final Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

Where to go next

In one line: The final law is lighter than the Srikrishna draft.

Differences

A Data Protection Board instead of an Authority, broad State exemptions and relaxed Data localisation. See Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

Where to go next

Data localisation

Storing data within India

In one line: Data localisation requires certain data to be stored within the country.

For

Security and law enforcement access.

Against

Costs for businesses and trade concerns.

Where to go next

Digital Personal Data Protection Act

India's 2023 law

In one line: The DPDP Act, 2023 governs processing of digital personal data.

Features

Consent, rights of data principals, duties of data fiduciaries, Data Protection Board.

Children

Parental consent for under-18s.

Where to go next

Digital Personal Data Protection Act: every story that connects to it (2)

Prelims-style quiz

  1. The Srikrishna Committee dealt with:

    1. Judicial reform
    2. Police reform
    3. Data protection
    4. Banking
    Show answer

    Answer: (c) Data protection. Data protection.

  2. Consider the following:
    1. The committee proposed a Data Protection Authority.
    2. Its 2018 bill was passed unchanged.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    1. 1 only
    2. 2 only
    3. Both 1 and 2
    4. Neither 1 nor 2
    Show answer

    Answer: (a) 1 only. The bill was revised and replaced; the DPDP Act passed in 2023.

  3. The DPDP Act was passed in:

    1. 2021
    2. 2023
    3. 2025
    4. 2019
    Show answer

    Answer: (b) 2023. 2023.

  4. Under the DPDP Act, complaints go to the:

    1. Data Protection Board
    2. Supreme Court
    3. CERT-In
    4. TRAI
    Show answer

    Answer: (a) Data Protection Board. Data Protection Board.

Syllabus

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