Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. (Answer in 150 words)

हिंदी में प्रश्न पढ़ें

डिजिटल व्यक्तिगत डेटा संरक्षण अधिनियम, 2023 के संदर्भ तथा प्रमुख विशेषताओं का वर्णन कीजिए। (उत्तर 150 शब्दों में दीजिए)

Evaluate your answer to this question → See all 2024 General Studies questions

Model answer

Drafted with AI by UPSC Answer Check against this question's marking rubric, to the 150-word length. UPSC does not publish answers for Mains — this is one way to score well, not an official key. How we build rubrics and answers.

Context The DPDP Act, 2023 was enacted following the Supreme Court’s Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (2017) judgment affirming privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21. It addresses the limitations of the Information Technology Act, 2000, incorporates the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee’s recommendations, and aligns domestic regulations with global standards like the European Union's GDPR.

Salient Features The Act regulates the processing of digital personal data based on informed consent from Data Principals, alongside specified legitimate uses.

It guarantees individuals the rights to access, correction, erasure, and grievance redressal. Data Fiduciaries must maintain robust security safeguards and obtain verifiable parental consent before processing children's data. Cross-border transfers are allowed except to countries the government restricts.

To ensure enforcement, it establishes the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI) to adjudicate non-compliance, prescribing penalties up to ₹250 crore for severe breaches. Exemptions are provided for national security, law enforcement, research, archival and statistical purposes. The DPDP Rules, 2025, notified in November 2025, bring it into force in phases over 18 months.

As India's first comprehensive data protection law, it balances individual privacy with legitimate state interests and the ease of doing business.

How this answer will be evaluated

Framework: Situation > Analysis > Measures > Assessment

What earns full marks: Precise context (Puttaswamy/GDPR) and 4+ specific features (DPB, Fiduciary, Rights).

Evaluation rubric

Each sub-part is marked on its own, against the marks and word limit printed on the paper.

The answer Describe the context and salient features of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. 10 marks · 150 words

describe— define → structure or process in order → labelled diagram → significance
Must cover
- Context: Puttaswamy (2017) privacy as a fundamental right; gaps in IT Act s.43A regime; Srikrishna Committee (2018); growth of the digital economy; withdrawn 2019 bill
- Scope and grounds: digital personal data processed in India (and abroad if offering goods/services to people in India); consent-based processing plus 'legitimate uses'
- Rights and duties: Data Principal rights (access, correction, erasure, grievance, nominate) and duties; Data Fiduciary obligations, Significant Data Fiduciaries, children's data with verifiable parental consent
- Enforcement: Data Protection Board of India, penalties up to ₹250 crore per instance; negative-list cross-border transfer; exemptions for State and research; DPDP Rules notified Nov 2025 with phased 18-month rollout
Loses marks
- Missing the context part
- Wrong penalty or outdated implementation status
- One-sided praise or criticism
Earns more
- Criticism: broad government exemptions, Board independence, RTI s.8(1)(j) amendment
- Comparison with GDPR (no data portability, no right to be forgotten in same form)
- Consent managers
Extra mark
- Example of how a consumer app must now handle consent

What "Describe" is asking you to do

Give a full, ordered account of the thing named — its parts, stages or mechanism — in the sequence in which it actually exists or occurs. Most describe questions come from the science optionals, where the marks sit in correct technical detail and, where the stem says so, a labelled diagram.

Structure that answers it

One-line identification of the subject → the parts or stages in their real order, each with its defining detail → labelled diagram where the subject is structural → closing line on function or significance

Where marks are lost

Loose general prose where the examiner is ticking named parts, correct terminology and their sequence; and in the General Studies papers, turning to evaluation before the description is finished.

All UPSC directive words, compared →

Practice this exact question

Write your answer and it is marked point by point against the model answer above — what you covered, what you missed, what you got wrong.

Evaluate my answer →

Model answer

How this answer will be evaluated

Evaluation rubric

Must cover

Loses marks

Earns more

Extra mark

Structure that answers it

Where marks are lost

Practice this exact question

More from General Studies 2024 GS Paper III