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September 2023

Personal Data Protection: Tighten Your Belts, It’s Time to Take Off

By Kaushal Kishore, Chartered Accountant
Reading Time 21 mins
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 received the assent of the President of India on 11th August, 2023, after it was passed by both houses of the parliament. The Act provides for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the rights of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes and matters incidental thereto. The Act addresses the need to protect the fundamental rights of a citizen that “no person shall be deprived of his or her personal liberty, except according to established legal procedures”. To achieve the objective, the Act creates significant obligations on Data Fiduciaries and imposes severe penal actions for non-compliance. It’s time to align and make an honest effort, with a genuine posture to invest in infrastructure and comply. BACKGROUND
Personal Data Protection, a matter of focus, globally and in India, has been fuelled by sensitive terms like ‘privacy being fundamental and constitutional right of an individual’. Upheld in the matter of Justice K S Puttaswami vs. Union of India, the Apex Court in 2017, impressed upon the Legislature to establish a robust data protection regime. Certain developed economies have already adopted stringent data privacy regulations, with wider coverage, beyond geographical boundaries, due to obvious commercial and other re