Amit Upadhyay and Abhinav Mehrotra
India’s digital transition in recent decades has led to a blurring of boundaries between the public and private, with calls for increased privacy protection amid the need for transparency and accountability.
As digital governance continues to expand, personal data is becoming central to state and corporate functions. This has given rise to various legal and constitutional questions that revolve around preserving individual privacy without weakening public accountability.
To ensure the integrity and protection of personal data, the government is required to frame laws allowing individuals to protect their rights while allowing them access to various services such as healthcare, banking, education, and digital platforms offered by the public and private sectors.
However, in April, Indian opposition parties cried foul over the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP), seeking the repeal of a particular provision – Section 44(3) – claiming that it infringed on the Right to Information Act. The opposition’s contention was that the “surreptitious” passing of the Act in 2023 could potentially adversely impact press freedom and citizens’ right to information.
Personal data protection in India has been shaped by recent legislative developments.
The enactment of the DPDP Act was an essential step in this direction, as it established a comprehensive framework for data privacy. The law provides individuals the right to protect their personal data, with the necessity of using such data for lawful purposes such as governance, business operations, or for public interest including issuance of Aadhaar, subsidies, pensions etc.
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