Gdpr Vs India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (dpdpa): A Comparative Guide

By Author: Cybresigma
Total Articles: 2
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While both the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and India's DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection) Act concerned with protecting personal data and have significant differences in scope, enforcement, and application, GDPR applies to datasets of all types of personal data (both physical and digital) as it applies throughout the EU.

Companies also provide GDPR certification in India while DPDP Act only applies to physical datasets of individuals and only applies within India. The GDPR has been a watershed moment in raising the level of data privacy everywhere with its more stringent requirements around consent, individual rights, and penalties.

Here's a more detailed comparison:

Scope and Applicability:

GDPR: Is applicable to all organizations which process personal data of individuals located within the possible geographical reach of the EU, and this includes organizations outside of the EU's jurisdiction.

DPDP Act (Digital personal data Protection act) : Is applicable to organizations that process digital personal data for individuals within India, regardless of the location ...
... of the organization.

Data Types:

GDPR: Elastic law mainly recognizes the difference between regular personal data and sensitive personal data (for example - racial or ethnic origin and political opinions). When processing certain types of vulnerable data, there are specific lawful bases required.

DPDP Act: Offers the same consideration to all types of digital personal data.

Consent:

GDPR: Consent is also to be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous, with the right to withdraw consent at any time and at least as easily as it was given.

DPDP Act: Consent needs to be given for processing digital personal data but the conditions around it are still to be developed.

Data Transfers:

GDPR: There are stringent international data transfer requirements, involving adequacy decisions and appropriate safeguards.

DPDP Act: This is possible and does cater to the transfer of data, but the final decisions derive from the Central government; the act relies heavily on governmental control.

The Role of GDPR Compliance in India

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), even though an EU law, important in guiding India's developing data protection framework. The GDPR, in fact, has a direct link to India's recently adopted Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), 2023 (the DPDPA).

The DPDPA would help introduce global best practices into privacy rights, consent, data minimization, and accountability into the Indian market. Companies in India that operate in the IT, business process outsourcing (BPO) or SaaS environment are often in the custody of data belonging to individuals located in the EU.

Therefore, GDPR is not 'relevant' but mandatory for Indian companies to ensure that they act with compliance to GDPR without regard for where their operations are located because of the extraterritorial scope of the GDPR.

The GDPR compliance in India has also allowed Indian companies to build better data governance, improve customer confidence, and begin to build compliance for dealing with data transfer regulations into international markets.

This paves the way for better alignment with international models and improved cross border compliance. Complying with the GDPR has become a requirement for Indian businesses who wish to operate globally and seek international market access.

In the overarching scheme of things, an organization that becomes compliant with the GDPR, it's not just a compliance obligation but also provides significant enhancements to transparency, security, and positivity about competition in our digital economy.

Best Practices for Indian IT & BPO Companies to Ensure GDPR Readiness

A. Conduct a Dual Compliance Audit

Analyze the data streams of GDPR-related EU Data and DPDPA-related Indian Data in one workflow, with data types, purposes for processing data, and a mapping of subject rights relevant to both regulations.

B. Reconstruct and Develop Consent Framework

Draft the consent interfaces required to fulfill regulatory obligations of both jurisdictional legislation that allow for consent to be explicit, granular, and revocable as also outlined in DPDPA. Include the modes of providing consent to the users, including their abrogation rights.

C. Enhance Privacy Governance

Investigate appointing a single DPO, aligning both DPIAs to the same audit cadence, and training staff and stakeholders on compliance obligations respecting both regulations, then ensure SDF inclusions for governance tools.

How does GDPR compliance helps in data protection

1.Enables individuals to control their data:

The rights to data portability, rectification, erasure (often known as the "right to be forgotten"), availability, and object to processing are vital rights under the GDPR. This enables individuals to control their information and ultimately retrieve their personal data.

2. Requires explicit consent:

Consent must be freely provided, explicit, informed, unambiguous, and based on a clear affirmative action before organizations can obtain it.

This countdown ensures transparency about data collection and helps avoid obscure data collection practices.

3. Requires reporting breaches quickly:

In the event of a data breach, GDPR requires an organization to report their findings to supervisory authorities in 72 hours—and also to affected individuals, if there is a significant risk. Fast action enables individuals to reduce harm and realize that organizations believe in transparency.

5. Provides accountability and oversight

GDPR requires certain roles, including Data Protection Officer (DPO) and Data Protection Impact Assessments for high-risk processing. Organizations will have to show their compliance with the rules, which will be supported by formal records, audits, and internal policies.

GDPR is more than a legal compliance exercise—it is a comprehensive approach to protect individuals, enhance organizational legitimacy, improve security, provide

Data protection services in India and develop lasting trust. GDPR establishes a global standard for how personal data should be managed and compliance with those standards can provide an organization with a convincing data protection position.