Lok Sabha Question No. 4060 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-27
Subject: Promotion of e-Commerce
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: N.K. PREMACHANDRAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## DEPARTMENT OF INDUSTRIAL POLICY & PROMOTION

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4060. TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE  27 TH  MARCH, 2017.

## PROMOTION OF E-COMMERCE

## 4060.  SHRI N.K. PREMACHANDRAN:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY be pleased to state:

## वाणिज् यवव द्यग ं ्री

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  develop  infrastructure  facilities  of  ecommerce in the country and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether the existing cyber law is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the e-commerce;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard;
- (d) the initiatives taken by the Government to provide privacy and security in ecommerce; and
- (e) the other steps taken by the Government to promote digital privacy and cyber security in the e-commerce sector?

## ANSWER

## वाणिज् यवव द्यग ााज् यं ्रीस् वतं ््रभााा(स्रींतंरीिरंमलााीरीतंाांि( THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRIMATI NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

- (a): Information  &  Communication  Technology  (ICT)  infrastructure  which includes  both  wire-line  and  wireless  connectivity  is  necessary  for e-commerce.  India, at present, has about 480 million broadband users. Under  developed  ICT  infrastructure,  mainly  in  rural  areas,  can  be  a foremost  barrier in the growth  of electronic  commerce.   India  is implementing a project to provision high speed optical fibre connectivity project  namely  Bharatnet  for  more  than  2,50,000  Gram  Panchayats. Also Cyber Emergency Response team has been established for cyber secured infrastructure.
- (b) to (e): India  has  an  Information  Technology    (IT)  Act  2000,  which  provides legal  recognition  for  the  transactions  carried  by  means  of  electronic data interchange and other means  of  electronic communication, commonly referred to as "Electronic Commerce".

IT  Act,  2000,  has  adequate  provisions  to  deal  with  data  protection  in digital form.  This Act is based on the "United Nations Commission on International Trade Law" (UNCITRAL)  model  Law  on Electronic Commerce. Government has enacted the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 (21 of 2000) including the amendments in 2008.

Further, IT Act, 2000 permits authentication through electronic signature as well as allows recognition of electronic records.

Section 43, Section 43A and Section 72A of the IT Act, 2000 provide comprehensive  legal  framework  for  privacy  and  security  of  data  in digital  form.    Section  43A  of  the  IT  Act,  2000  and  the  Information Technology  (Reasonable  Security Practices and  Procedures  and Sensitive  Personal  Data  or  Information)  Rules,  2011  mandates  that body corporate, who collect personal data or information must provide privacy policy for handling  of  or dealing in  personal  information including  sensitive  personal  data  or  information  on  their  websites. They are also required to implement reasonable security practices and procedures to protect the information. Section 72A  provides for punishment for disclosure of information in breach of a lawful contract.

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