Everything you need to know about India's DPDPA Proposed rules 2025
India has officially released its draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act today, inviting public consultation on the proposed framework. Here are the key takeaways from Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA) draft implementation rules:
1. Core Principles and Concepts
- Transparency: Data Fiduciaries must clearly inform Data Principals about data usage, rights, and grievance mechanisms.
- Accountability: Fiduciaries are responsible for securing data, reporting breaches, and adhering to processing rules.
2. Rights of Data Principals
- Access and Correction: Individuals can access and correct their data.
- Nomination: Data Principals can nominate others to act on their behalf.
- Grievance Redressal: Fiduciaries must provide mechanisms to address complaints.
3. Obligations for Data Fiduciaries
- Notice Requirements: Clear communication about data usage, rights and withdrawal of consent.
- Reasonable Security Measures: Encryption, access controls and backups to prevent breaches.
- Data Breach Intimation: Promptly notify affected individuals and the Data Protection Board.
- Data Erasure: Mandatory deletion of data when it is no longer required, except for legal purposes.
- Designated Contact: Provide contact details for data-related queries.
4. Processing Rules for Special Categories
- Children’s Data: Requires verifiable parental consent for processing a child's data, with specific exemptions for education and healthcare.
- Significant Data Fiduciaries: Subject to higher obligations, including data protection impact assessments and localized data storage in India.
5. Consent Management
- Consent Managers: Must register with the Data Protection Board, maintain transparency and avoid conflicts of interest.
- Responsibilities: Manage consents, keep records and provide Data Principals with access to these records.
6. Cross-Border Data Transfers
- Restrictions: Transfers outside India are limited and governed by government rules.
- Exemptions: Research, archival and statistical purposes are exempt under specific standards.
7. State and Government Processing
- Public Purpose: Government can process data for benefits, subsidies and services but must meet similar standards as private entities.
- Intimation to Data Principals: Notify individuals of any data processing.
8. Data Protection Board and Appellate Tribunal
- Data Protection Board: Oversees compliance, inquiries and grievance resolution, functioning as a digital office.
- Appellate Tribunal: Handles appeals against board decisions digitally, ensuring a swift process.
9. Government’s Power
Information Requests: Government can demand data from Fiduciaries or Intermediaries but cannot disclose it without authorization.
10. Exemptions
Specific Purposes: Activities related to research, archiving, and statistics are exempt if they meet defined standards.
The DPDPA is built on three pillars:
- Empowering Individuals: Through clear rights, transparent processes and grievance mechanisms.
- Ensuring Accountability: For organizations with robust data protection measures and reporting obligations.
- Balancing Needs: Between innovation, business requirements, and the protection of personal data.
It emphasizes protection for vulnerable groups, including children and introduces stringent compliance measures for entities with significant responsibilities in data handling.
How Privacy License Supports DPDPA Compliance
As businesses gear up to align with the DPDPA’s requirements, Privacy License is at the forefront of simplifying compliance. Our AI-powered platform is designed to address the Act's complexities by offering a seamless, centralized solution for data management and compliance.
Key Offerings Aligned with DPDPA Obligations:
1. AI-Powered Data Inventory
DPDPA requires organizations to maintain an accurate understanding of their data holdings. Privacy License automates the discovery of sensitive data across structured and unstructured data stores using context-sensitive, privacy-first LLMs. This ensures organizations have a real-time, accurate picture of data locations and usage, aligning with the Act’s focus on transparency.
2. Centralized Catalog
With DPDPA emphasizing clear categorization and purpose-driven data processing, Privacy License provides a centralized, searchable catalog of all data categories. This includes AI-detected metadata such as sensitive data types, processing purposes, ownership, retention periods, and permissions, empowering businesses to meet DPDPA’s notice and accountability requirements.
3. Data Retention Management
Privacy License enables organizations to configure and enforce data retention policies effortlessly. By ensuring that data is deleted when no longer required—except for legal or regulatory purposes—businesses can comply with DPDPA’s data erasure mandates.
4. Legal Hold Management
Under DPDPA, organizations must safeguard data during litigation or regulatory inquiries. Privacy License simplifies legal hold management by quickly placing holds on relevant data, preventing accidental deletion and ensuring compliance during inquiries.
5. Data Rights Management
DPDPA grants individuals rights to access, correct, and delete their personal data. Privacy License streamlines the handling of these consumer requests, enabling businesses to stay ahead of the curve in fulfilling data principals' rights.
Why Choose Privacy License?
The DPDPA introduces stringent compliance requirements, and Privacy License’s platform is built to transform these challenges into streamlined strategies. By centralizing data management and leveraging AI-powered tools, organizations can not only comply with DPDPA but also build trust with customers through transparency and accountability.
As India progresses toward implementing DPDPA, Privacy License provides the tools and insights businesses need to stay compliant and agile in an evolving regulatory landscape.