Taking another step towards Digital India, the Gujarat government has constituted a Departmental Data Committee (DDC) in the Agriculture Department to protect the data of farmers. This committee will protect the data of farmers under the provisions of the DPDP Act, 2023.
Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [भारत]July 9 (ANI): The Gujarat government has taken another step towards realizing the vision of Digital India by constituting a Departmental Data Committee (DDC) in the Department of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation to protect the data of farmers.
According to the Chief Minister’s Office on Thursday, in line with the provisions of the Government of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), the state government has taken measures to protect the personal, financial and agriculture-related data of farmers, ensuring that it is used only with their consent and as per the prescribed rules.
Composition and objectives of the committee
The Departmental Data Committee (DDC) will monitor the scientific, secure and transparent management of data in the Department of Agriculture, its associated Boards, Corporations and Agricultural Universities. In the digital age, farmers’ data is as valuable as their land and crops. Security of this data will ensure that the benefits of government schemes reach the eligible beneficiaries and reduce the scope for fraud and misuse.
This committee will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary or Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Farmers Welfare and Cooperation. Its members will include departmental data officers, member secretaries, chief information security officers (CISOs), deputy directors (IT), ICT officers, legal officers, IT experts, and heads of all boards, corporations, agricultural universities and subordinate offices under the department.
Data Classification and Security
The Department of Agriculture will classify all its datasets into five categories: Open, Shareable, Restricted, Sensitive and Negative List. This will help in sharing useful information like weather information, farming techniques and market prices with farmers, while their personal, banking and other confidential information will be kept completely safe under the ‘Sensitive’ category.
The committee will ensure that farmers’ data is managed as per the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) and other applicable government regulations. This will protect farmers’ personal information from unauthorized access and ensure strong legal protection for data security.
Top priority for consent management
The new framework gives top priority to ‘consent management’. Farmers’ data will be used only with their consent, and a secure, auditable and traceable record of every consent will be kept. Any violation of the provisions related to consent will be immediately reported to the State Data Authority (SDA).
Security Monitoring and Reporting
The committee will continuously monitor farmers’ data for any security incident or data breach. Any such incident will be immediately reported to the State Chief Data Officer and other competent authorities for prompt action, thereby ensuring strong security of farmers’ data.
benefits of initiative
Access to secure and authenticated data will help in better research and informed decision making in the agriculture sector. This will make farmer welfare schemes more effective, targeted and responsive to the actual needs of farmers.
The new system will ensure that personal, banking and other sensitive information of farmers remains completely secure. Strong data governance will help prevent data misuse, unauthorized access and cyber threats.
Agricultural policies and welfare schemes will be developed using authentic data and scientific analysis. Distribution of agricultural subsidies, crop insurance, disaster relief and other government assistance will become more transparent, efficient and accurate. As a result, government benefits will reach all eligible farmers immediately. (ANI)
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