Cabinet Secretary likely to head Data Protection Board

The Cabinet Secretary is likely to head a search-cum-selection committee tasked with appointing the Chairperson for the Data Protection Board, which is being formed under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

The Data Protection Board will be the nodal body tasked with ensuring compliance of the data protection law. 

The Cabinet Secretary is the supremo of the civil servants and the administrative head of the government. The Cabinet Secretary is also the principal advisor of the Prime Minister.

Along with Cabinet Secretary, the committee for appointing the DPB Chairperson will include the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Secretary of the Department of Legal Affairs, and two experts, as per the draft rules, according to a news source.   

Even though the DPDP Act was passed in August 2023, certain clauses of the legislation require additional provisions. Soon, the government may come up with these rules for consultation.

To appoint the remaining members of the Data Protection Board, another search-cum-selection committee will be formed. This committee may be headed by the secretaries of MeitY and the Department of Legal Affairs, along with two experts and the potential inclusion of the Data Protection Board Chairperson (if appointed by then).