Government Closes In On Digital Personal Data Protection Regulations — Profit Exclusive

The public consultation process for the draft Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) regulation is now completed and no more extensions will be made for comments, according to people familiar with the matter.

The government's Ministry of Electronics and IT had opened the draft DPDP rules for public consultation from Jan. 3 till Feb. 18 but had then extended the deadline to March 5 for comments. This deadline won't be extended now.

The final DPDP regulation will be brought out soon, as the bill was already passed.

The government opened the legislature to the public on Jan. 3 this year, about sixteen months after it was passed by the Parliament on Aug. 9, 2023.

This Act aims to establish a framework for personal data protection in India, covering aspects like data processing, user consent, cross-border data transfers, and penalties for violations. It replaces outdated IT laws and aligns India with global data protection standards like the European Union's GDPR.

However, its implementation had hit roadblocks since stakeholders brought up concerns surrounding unclear data breach reporting timelines, clarity on cross-border data transfers and a surge in the compliance burden on all types of companies.

MeitY had also held a consultation meeting with industry representatives on Jan. 14, seeking inputs from organisations like National Payments Corp., PwC, Apple, Snapchat, Zomato, PhonePe and OpenAI on how the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, could be fine-tuned.