Digital Personal Data Protection – Law & Practice By Rachit Sharma – Edition 2026

Digital Personal Data Protection – Law & Practice is a comprehensive, authoritative, and practice-driven exposition of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDP Act) and the Rules—India’s first dedicated, self-contained statute governing the lifecycle of digital personal data. Conceived as a Law & Practice work in the truest sense, the book is designed not only to explain the statutory text but to translate the new data protection framework into an operational, enforceable, and defensible compliance system for India’s digital economy.

The DPDP Act marks a fundamental shift in India’s regulatory philosophy—from fragmented, sector-specific data protection obligations under the Information Technology Act 2000 to a rights-based, fiduciary-centric, and enforcement-oriented regime. This book captures that shift in full measure. It treats the Act not as a standalone legal instrument, but as a governance architecture that reshapes how personal data is collected, processed, secured, shared, retained, and erased across public and private systems.

The commentary reflects both doctrinal understanding and institutional realism. The work is written with a clear recognition that data protection today operates simultaneously as:

• A constitutional imperative (flowing from the right to privacy)
• A regulatory compliance function
• A technology-dependent operational process
• A risk-management and governance discipline

Accordingly, the book adopts a multi-layered analytical approach—combining statutory interpretation, rule-based operational guidance, compliance design, enforcement preparedness, and comparative global perspective—making it a complete and enduring reference on India’s data protection law.

This book is meticulously designed for all stakeholders who must interpret, implement, oversee, audit, or adjudicate data protection compliance in India, including:

• Data Protection Officers (DPOs), Privacy Heads & Compliance Teams – For designing governance frameworks, implementing statutory obligations, managing risk, documentation, breach response, audits, and regulatory readiness
• Corporate Legal Teams & In-house Counsels – For section-wise statutory interpretation, policy drafting, vendor and processor governance, cross-functional compliance decisions, and enforcement preparedness
• Legal Practitioners & Advocates – For advisory work, proceedings before the Data Protection Board of India, appeals, alternate dispute resolution, and penalty exposure analysis
• Technology, IT & Digital Governance Professionals – For aligning digital systems, data flows, security safeguards, and consent architectures with statutory requirements
• Government Officials, Policymakers & Regulators – For understanding institutional design, State processing standards, exemptions, and the privacy–transparency balance
• Students, Academicians & Researchers – For a structured, contextual, and comparative study of India’s data protection law, supported by jurisprudential and global references

The Present Publication is the Latest Edition, updated till 10^th December 2025. This book is authored by CS Rachit Sharma, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Law & Practice Orientation] This book is expressly written to support implementation and enforcement. Each provision is analysed not only for its legal meaning, but also for its compliance consequences, decision points, and organisational impact
• [Exhaustive Section-wise Commentary] Every section of the DPDP Act is examined in depth, covering:
  • Statutory language and scope
  • Legislative intent and policy rationale
  • Interpretative issues and ambiguities
  • Practical application in organisational contexts
• [Phased Commencement & Rollout Mapping] A distinctive feature of this work is its commencement-centric analysis. The book maps:
  • Sections of the Act to their dates of enforcement
  • Corresponding DPDP Rules 2025
  • Practical implications of phased implementation
  • This enables organisations to plan compliance chronologically, rather than reactively
• [Embedded Compliance Toolkit] The commentary is enriched with:
  • Checklists for statutory obligations
  • Tables and charts for quick reference
  • Step-by-step operational guidance
  • Illustrations and worked examples
  • These tools allow the book to function as an internal compliance manual, not merely a reference text
• [Consent Manager Ecosystem Explained] The book devotes detailed attention to:
  • The concept and role of Consent Managers
  • Eligibility and registration requirements
  • Governance, record-keeping, fiduciary obligations, and restrictions
  • Their place within India’s consent-driven data economy
• [Security Safeguards & Data Breach Governance] Security is treated as an operational obligation, not a vague principle. The book explains:
  • Reasonable security safeguards under the Rules
  • Technical and organisational measures
  • Breach detection, reporting timelines, disclosures, and regulatory communication
• [Institutional Enforcement Architecture] A complete analysis is provided of:
  • The Data Protection Board of India
  • Its establishment, composition, powers, and procedures
  • Enforcement mechanisms, penalties, and adjudication
  • Appeals, voluntary undertakings, and alternate dispute resolution
• [Dedicated FAQs Division] Recognising uncertainty, the book includes a standalone FAQs division addressing common implementation issues under both the Act and the Rules
• [Comparative & Global Context] Where relevant, the book draws measured comparisons with GDPR and global privacy principles, enriching interpretation without diluting India-specific compliance realities

The coverage of the book is as follows:

• Conceptual & Jurisprudential Foundation
  • The book opens by situating data protection within India’s constitutional framework, explaining privacy as a fundamental right and its relevance to modern digital interactions. It traces the evolution of data protection in India, highlighting the shift from a fragmented, IT Act–based regime to a comprehensive, rights-centric framework under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023
  • It further explains the rationale for replacing the IT Act/SPDI framework, outlining why earlier mechanisms were inadequate for addressing consent, accountability, enforcement, and large-scale digital data processing. The discussion is complemented by references to global data protection benchmarks, enabling readers to understand India’s law in a comparative international context
• Core Statutory Commentary (Act-Aligned)
  • The book provides an exhaustive section-wise commentary on the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, along with corresponding rules, arranged strictly in line with the statutory structure
  • It analyses the preliminary provisions governing scope, application, and key definitions, followed by a detailed examination of the obligations of Data Fiduciaries and Significant Data Fiduciaries, including consent, notice, legitimate uses, and enhanced governance duties
  • The commentary also covers the rights and duties of Data Principals, with focused treatment of access, correction, erasure, grievance redressal, and nomination, alongside the corresponding responsibilities of individuals
  • Dedicated coverage is given to the processing of children’s data, cross-border data processing, and statutory exemptions and special provisions, ensuring a complete understanding of the Act’s operational boundaries
• Governance & Institutional Framework
  • A separate section explains the Data Protection Board of India, detailing its establishment, composition, powers, and procedures. The book clarifies the Board’s enforcement philosophy, compliance expectations, and its role as the central regulatory authority under the DPDP framework
• Remedies, Appeals & Penalties
  • The book examines the penalty and adjudication framework under the Act, outlining the nature of penalties, factors influencing enforcement action, and exposure risks for organisations. It also explains the adjudication process, along with appellate remedies and alternate dispute resolution mechanisms available under the law
• Implementation & Operations
  • Moving beyond interpretation, the book focuses on practical implementation, covering consent frameworks, security safeguards, and organisational controls. It provides guidance on data breach identification and response, documentation, audit preparedness, and governance structures required for ongoing compliance
• FAQs & Practical Guidance
  • A dedicated FAQs section addresses common Act-specific and Rule-specific queries, resolving practical issues encountered during implementation and day-to-day compliance
• Appendices (Complete Statutory Ecosystem)
  • The book concludes with comprehensive appendices containing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, DPDP Rules 2025, relevant notifications, extracts from the Information Technology Act 2000, and the SPDI Rules 2011, making it a complete one-volume statutory reference

The commentary is organised around a carefully designed, statute-aligned and implementation-focused structure, ensuring clarity, navigability, and long-term usability for diverse readers:

• Provision-by-provision Analysis, arranged strictly in accordance with the chapter and section sequence of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, enabling seamless correlation between the statutory text and its interpretation
• Each Provision is Analysed Through a Structured Explanatory Framework, comprising:
  • Contextual placement of the statutory text, explaining the scope, purpose, and legislative intent of the provision within the overall architecture of the Act
  • Interpretative analysis and explanatory notes, clarifying definitions, thresholds, conditions, exceptions, and areas of potential ambiguity
  • Practical and operational implications, highlighting compliance duties, organisational impact, decision-making considerations, and risk exposure for Data Fiduciaries, Data Principals, and intermediaries
  • Comparative references and judicial insights, where relevant, drawing upon global data protection standards and established privacy jurisprudence to enrich understanding and interpretation
• Integrated Cross-referencing Between Related Provisions, enabling readers to appreciate the interconnected nature of rights, obligations, exemptions, and enforcement mechanisms under the DPDP framework
• Clear Demarcation Between Conceptual Explanation & Implementation Guidance, allowing readers to distinguish foundational legal principles from step-by-step compliance and operational requirements
• Supplemented by Practice-Oriented Tools, including tables, charts, illustrations, checklists, and FAQs, to translate statutory obligations into actionable compliance measures
• This structured approach ensures that the book functions effectively as a quick-reference guide, a detailed analytical commentary, and a practical implementation manual, catering equally to legal interpretation, organisational compliance, and academic study