What the Personal Data Protection Act Means for India

Grand Tamasha

This August, India’s parliament passed a landmark piece of legislation, known as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. The new act provides a framework for the protection of users’ personal data and the privacy of individuals.

The passage of this bill marks the culmination of a decade-long effort to frame a data privacy law—an effort that has had many twists and turns. To talk more about this important piece of legislation and what it means for India and Indians, Milan is joined on the show this week by Rahul Matthan. Rahul is a partner in Trilegal’s Bengaluru office where he heads the firm’s telecom, media, and technology practice. Over the past decade, he has been intimately involved with India’s data privacy efforts as a lawyer, author, and technology expert. He is the author of several books, including the forthcoming, The Third Way: India’s Revolutionary Approach to Data Governance. Since 2016, he has written a weekly column for Mint called “Ex Machina.”

Milan and Rahul discuss the long and winding road that led to the passage of the data protection bill, the compromises struck along the way, and critics’ concerns about national security exemptions. Plus, the two discuss the debate over data localization and the evolution of an active, well-connected technology policy community across India.

Episode Notes:

Rahul Matthan, “Get on with data protection now that the law’s enacted,” Mint, August 15, 2023.

Rahul Matthan, “Companies must work hard to ensure data protection,” Mint, August 7, 2023.

Rahul Matthan, “The draft data privacy law surprises with its simplicity,” Mint, July 18, 2023.

Anirudh Burman, “Resisting the Leviathan: The Key Change in India’s New Proposal to Protect Personal Data,” Carnegie India, November 28, 2022.