IRCTC called by Parliamentary panel for briefing on citizens' data security, privacy

Representatives from Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) have been called to brief a Parliamentary committee on citizens' data security and privacy.

As per a notice issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, IRCTC officials will brief members of the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology on August 26.

The call for the briefing comes days after the Indian railway's ticketing arm floated a tender to generate Rs 1,000 crore from the monetisation of its data assets.

As per IRCTC's tender, it is looking for a consultant to identify ways in which customer data like name, age, mobile number, gender, address, email-id, class of journey, and payment mode, among others, can be monetised. The tender also spoke about the selection of an entity to design and roll out the data monetisation strategy.

IRCTC, a public sector undertaking that was listed on the bourses only in late 2019, is the dominant player in the railway ticketing space.

The plan to monetise customer data has raised an outcry over the past week and invited criticism from experts given the absence of rules regarding personal data protection. Lawyers have also pointed out that the personal data provided by customers to IRCTC at the time of booking their rail tickets "was not explicitly for the purpose of monetisation".

Since then, it has been reported that IRCTC will allow passengers to opt out of the data monetisation plan, with The Economic Times reporting on August 23 that the process was only at a preliminary stage and any decision would be strictly within "the confines of the law".

Before being briefed by IRCTC officials, the Parliamentary panel will hear the views of experts and stakeholders on issues related to digital platforms, technology, and the gig economy. The committee will again seek views on citizens' data security and privacy.