The Union government is readying to release the first draft of the new Digital India Act (DIA) by late July or early August, according to reports.

The government will start pre-draft consultations in the first week of May in which it will invite lawyers, public policy consultants and other experts to submit their views on what should be included in the new Act. It will also give them (stakeholders) 45 days to upload their written submissions, as per reports.

The electronics and information technology ministry will then study the submissions and may invite government and private legal experts to vet the final draft before it is released for public consultation.

If the need be, there can be a revised draft based on the legal feedback received. A broad consensus needs to be arrived at, according to reports.

The series of public consultations, likely to start from May 3 in Delhi, will also be conducted in other cities. The ministry has already conducted rigorous internal meetings on the DIA, as per reports.

The Digital India Act aims to replace the 23-year-old Information Technology Act of 2000 in its entirety instead of amending the law.

As per the recent reports, the electronics and IT ministry may look to include provisions to curb the influence of Big Tech in the DIA. People with knowledge of the matter had then told ET that these regulations may look to restrain big tech companies from achieving or misusing market dominance.

The new law may also introduce a guiding framework with provisions related to data storage, online gaming, cyber bullying, dozing and other cybercrimes. It may also introduce working guidelines to classify and regulate various online portals such as e-commerce websites and AI-enabled platforms.