DSCI Privacy Certification For Vodafone India

Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the focal body on data protection in India announced that it has certified Vodafone India Limited (VIL) – Delhi Circle,  one of the leading telecom  companies as a ‘DSCI Privacy Certified’ (DPC) organization. This certification follows VIL’s efforts in building a data privacy program and implementing privacy practices to fulfill its commitment towards privacy and protecting personal information of individuals. VIL is the first telecom organization in India to have been granted this certification by DSCI.

The assessment of data privacy program implementation at Vodafone-Delhi Circle, in line with the requirements of DSCI Privacy Framework (DPF) and DSCI Assessment Framework for Privacy (DAF-P), was conducted by DNV GL; a DSCI authorized Assessment Organization (AO). The certificate was awarded by Prof. Balakrishnan, Chairman, DSCI during a ceremony, organized on the sidelines of DSCI Best Practices Meet, on July 10, 2014.

On the occasion Kamlesh Bajaj, CEO, DSCI said “it is an important milestone in DSCI’s journey so far. We started with task of promoting the outsourcing industry, assuring the clients worldwide on the soundness of security and privacy practices. Through our public advocacy, thought leadership, capacity building and outreach and awareness work over the years, our efforts in building a robust culture on security and privacy protection are now paying off. Organizations from different industry verticals have adopted and implemented DSCI Privacy Framework (DPF), for building their privacy program and maturing their practices. Industry self-regulation is also one of the key recommendations of the Justice AP Shah Committee’s Report by ‘Group of Expert on Privacy’, on which the new draft of ‘Privacy Protection Bill’ is expected to be based. It is important the industry readies itself to address growing concerns on privacy globally. I congratulate ‘Vodafone India’ for undergoing assessment against our framework and becoming the first telecom organization to get DSCI Privacy Certified (DPC) Organization status.”

Nandakumar Shamanna, Head -Business Development, DNV GL Business Assurance, India said “The initiative taken by Vodafone as being one of the early birds to adopt good practices around ‘Privacy’ is appreciable. The framework developed by DSCI is comprehensive and enables businesses to adopt controls that are comparable to the best. DNV GL is glad to be associated as a leading independent assessor to verify implementation and thereby supporting the spread of building a strong security and privacy aware culture in this country. We believe various other sectors especially the B2C, like retail, banking, insurance and healthcare will come forward to adopt going forward.”

Burgess Cooper, VP & CTSO, Vodafone India said “Vodafone India’s Delhi circle has been awarded coveted DSCI Privacy Certification. The certificate benchmarks the privacy standards that Vodafone India complies with and also reiterates our focus on ‘Customer First’. The adoption of the DSCI framework has led to many business improvements including the reduction of high-risks, better coverage of privacy issues in our contracts, improved review of new business developments, standardized processes and detailed vendor audits. The certification benefits us by ensuring that appropriate processes and procedures for personal data management are defined, documented and embedded in our privacy practices.”