Gearing up for a privacy-first regime

PHASED DPDP ROLLOUT GIVES STARTUPS THE LEEWAY TO ADAPT

- SUDHIR CHOWDHARY

THE DIGITAL PERSONAL Data Protection (DPDP) Rules, 2025 are more than a regulatory milestone, they represent a cultural shift for India's digital ecosystem. They demand data ethics, transparency and accountability from day one. Startups will need to move past checkbox compliance and build systems that respect consent and secure personal data.

For many early-stage companies, that may feel like a tall order because compliance means systems, new talent and new costs."But this is also the inflection point," said CP Gurnani, co-founder & vice-chairman, AIONOS. "Every major regulatory change in history has created a new generation of winners, those who innovate ahead of compliance, not in reaction to it."

The DPDP regime opens doors to new markets and innovation: from privacy-by-design products and AI-based consent platforms to regulatory automation and business continuity tools tailored for this new compliance era. At the same time, the compliance burden is real. Startups will need to implement tighter data-handling processes, establish consent frameworks, invest in security technologies, and embed privacy-by-design into their products from day one.