IT's official: IT Act to be amended

New Delhi: With incidences of data pilferage threatening India's image as an outsourcing destination, the Government on Monday approved amendments in the IT Act 2000, to check information theft and online frauds.

The decision at the Union Cabinet's meeting follows Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to investors abroad that India was sensitive to their concerns about data theft and would plug the loopholes.

"Concerns have been raised both within the country as well as by the customers abroad regarding adequacy of data protection and privacy laws in the country," Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Dasmunsi said, while briefing reporters on the Cabinet meeting.

"A need is, therefore, felt to strengthen the legislation pertaining to data protection and privacy," he said, adding that security practices and procedures would be prescribed to be followed by organisations and to enquire personal information of customers.

The Amendment in the IT Act, 2000 would be presented in Parliament in the coming winter session, he said.

Manmohan Singh had last week, while visiting London, assured British investors of India's excellent standards for information protection. The reassurance came in the wake of a UK-based channel's allegations about data theft from Indian call centres.

Further, the amendments are aimed at preventing computer misuse like video voyeurism, identity theft, e-commerce frauds like phishing, frauds on online auction sites, sending offensive emails and multimedia offences, Dasmunsi said.

The Act was originally enacted in the year 2000 and primarily aimed at boosting e-commerce in the country and also to create an enabling environment for e-governance.

With proliferation of e-governance and other IT applications, security practices and procedures relating to such applications are proposed to be prescribed, Dasmunsi said.

There is also an emerging view that IT laws should be technologically neutral in line with the recommendations made by UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) Model Law on Electronic signature.

Such proposal will promote development of alternative technologies for authentication of electronic records and will not warrant legislative changes each time a new and equally effective technology is evolved, Dasmunsi said.

Keeping in view the above, the amendments have been proposed in the Information Technology Act, 2000 by amending some of the existing sections and proposing to insert new sections to address various issues as discussed above, the minister added.