Are we closer to a law on privacy?

• Group of Experts on Privacy, Chaired by Mr. A. P. Shah, submitted its Report to the Planning Commission.
•   The Expert Group was appointed to set out the principles that Indian privacy law should abide by
• India does not have a law that specifies safeguards to privacy.
• recent government initiatives, such as the UID, involve collection of personal information and storage in electronic form.  The absence of a law on privacy increases the risk to infringement of the fundamental right.
• Recommendations of the Expert Group on Privacy
• the new legislation on privacy should ensure that safeguards are technology neutral.  This means that the enactment should provide protections that are applicable to information, regardless of the manner in which it is stored: digital or physical form.
• should protect all types of privacy, such as bodily privacy (DNA and physical privacy); privacy against surveillance (unauthorised interception, audio and video surveillance); and data protection.
• The safeguards under the Bill should apply to both government and private sector entities.
• There should be an office of a 'Privacy Commissioner' at both the central and regional level.
• There should be Self-Regulating Organisations set up by the industry.
• The legislation should ensure that entities that collect and process data would be accountable for these processes and the use to which the data is put.
• the Supreme Court has held privacy to be a fundamental right, it is restricted to certain aspects of a person's life.
• hese aspects include the privacy of one's home, family, marriage, motherhood, procreation and child-rearing. 
• Risks to privacy
• Government departments collect data under various legislations.  For instance, under the Passport Act, 1967 and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 persons have to give details of their address, date of birth etc.  These enactments do not provide safeguards against access and use of the information by third parties. 
• recent government initiatives may increase the risk to infringement of privacy as personal information, previously only available in physical form, will now be available electronically. 
• Initiatives such as the National e-Governance Plan, introduced in 2006 and Aadhaar would require maintenance of information in electronic form. 
• Under the initiative, biometric details of the beneficiaries, such as retina scan and fingerprints, are collected and stored by the government.