Why your MTNL connection could expose you to digital identity thefts

At present, India does not have an all-encompassing privacy law to deal with data breaches though the Department of Personnel and Training has been working on a draft privacy law for three years now. According to an article inthe_Times of India_, various government websites provide valuable, confidential data of citizens that make them easy prey to cyber stalkers and identity thieves, under the guise of promoting transparency of operations. Websites of social upliftment programs like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme display the bank accounts and IFSC codes of all citizens under the program. Under Sec 4 of act government subsidy programs must publish all information online; however Sec 8 of the same act states that information that invades a citizen’s privacy need not be published unless certain tribunals rule that the information is in public service.