In a first, the Union government implemented ‘She/Her’ pronouns instead of ‘He/His’ in the newly-introduced Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023.

In order to refer to individuals, the Centre has used ‘She’ and ‘Her’ pronouns irrespective of gender instead of using the default ‘He’ and ‘Him’.

The third page of the bill states, “”she” in relation to an individual and includes the reference to such an individual irrespective of gender”.

Union Communications, Electronics, and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday introduced the bill in Lok Sabha during the monsoon session. Vaishnaw stated that the step has been taken keeping in view Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” campaign that aims to empower women.

“This new Bill, after it is passed by Parliament, will protect the rights of all citizens, allow the innovation economy to expand, and permit government’s lawful and legitimate access in national security and emergencies like pandemics and earthquakes,” Minister of State for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar said.