'The Future is Digital and It is Here'. This is not a one-liner from an advertisement but the truth regarding India. The much controversial EIA draft took the spotlight across social media platforms and it now seems that the online activism part doesn't even stop there. Our Prime Minister declared a Health ID for all citizens containing all sets of health data as part of the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM) in his address to the nation on the Independence Day. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) the idea of NDHM had its roots in the National Health Policy from 2017. The whole intention according to the project is to digitize the entire healthcare ecosystem of India.
Recently, as part of the NDHM, a Health Data Management Policy was released. This is in its draft stage and the stakeholders, i.e. the citizens are asked to come up with suggestions and comments before the 3rd of September. The policy details a "Federated Architecture" for the whole idea and explains it. What really attracted attention in the policy was the definition of "Sensitive Personal Data" under the first chapter of the policy. Financial information, Sex life, Sexual orientation, Genetic data all are mentioned under personal data here. The under-the sheet treatment to these flagship policies during the pandemic period have raised doubts as suggestions and comments from public for the draft are only open for roughly a week.
So the question of why the government is acting hasty over such an important decision is getting stronger. Now, here I would like to point out similar policies deliberated at the higher level which many wouldn't have even heard of but which affects us all. We all know India lacks a Data Protection Law and that the Parliament is waiting for the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB) to be finally passed. Of course, there are problems to the drafted bill but that's not the issue. Apart from the PDPB the new NDHM also proposed many Data Protection Trusts and Bodies. As we all know, PDPB is regarding the Personal Data of an individual but what about Non-Personal Data (NPD)? Yes, there is something called NPD. The concept exists in the European System of Law and finally the Indian system has also adopted the NPD. It was in July that the Government-Appointed Committee headed by the Infosys Co-founder and its Ex-Chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan released their report on Non-Personal Data Governance Framework.
The nine member committee has now extended the time till 3rd September to send public suggestions. The problem with this is that there is little clarity in how PDPB will turn out to be and how it will act accordingly with the currently debated NPD regulation. The question of how these will be legally binding is also there. NPD is the data which doesn't carry any Personally Identifiable Information (PII), i.e. the data which is anonymized. NPD can be data on patterns of consumption or lifestyle which has great economical clout. The government thinks that by tapping into this 'Goldmine' (the report actually focuses on the "real value of data" which in itself is dubious) it can help create equality in the economic space between corporations. Of course, the Big Five (especially Facebook and Google) has moved against the government on the same. Whether the logic of maximum productivity is right or wrong isn't the issue here, the real issue is Overdeterminism. If data is used as the sole determiner for the market then a new Economics will be in place and that won't be good for the general public as I understand it. The Surveillance Capitalism concept is made legal here by the government through this report. This is exactly like tampering with the Personal Data by making it NPD. Many say it is also part of the Atmanirbhar show stunt.
I can guarantee that most of you reading this were unaware of the situation. Most of you even now, will also not find this something to be interesting because it is likely that we think this doesn't affect us. But, this affects us. Another controversial Bill from the Parliament has something to do with our DNA. This Bill that proposes DNA Sampling and Profiling is currently being deliberated by the Parliamentary Standing committee on Science and Technology. The Committee's Head, Jairam Ramesh has already voiced his concerns over some provisions of the Bill.
The actual problem with all these Bills and Reports is that the Citizens of India and by Citizens, I mean, 'the laymen' are actually out of the discussion. The majority is in the dark regarding the digitization project. The media which was to take up these issues are dragging the paid 'Dead Carcass'. Most of the times these policies are only taken at face value by the mainstream media. Nobody knows what's going on. What digitization our identities are going to go through is unknown. Privacy is still a new subject to us and to our ridiculous model of democracy. What matters here is discussion as it should be in a democracy. It should also be about charting a digital course, taking inspiration from the European policies and this is important now. Recently the Schrems II case judgement showed us the potential of a common international agreement on data protection. So getting along with the European standards might help us get some idea of the big picture. Meanwhile, lets wait and see how the Bills and Reports turn out to be outside the Parliament.
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