India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act is set to take effect with full compliance required by May 13, 2027, according to reports from Business Standard. While many organisations have begun preparing for the new data governance framework, experts indicate that the biggest challenge lies in fundamentally changing how companies collect, manage, and protect personal data. The compliance deadline comes at a critical time when businesses increasingly rely on customer data to drive digital services, artificial intelligence, and personalised experiences.
According to Raghu Pareddy, CEO & Founder of Wissen Technology, the primary challenge will be gaining complete visibility into where personal data resides across the organisation, as reported by Business Standard. Over the years, organisations have accumulated data across legacy systems, cloud platforms, third-party vendors, and multiple business functions without a unified governance framework. Nikhil Narendran, Partner at Trilegal, echoed concerns that most companies will struggle with identifying personal data they process before beginning compliance work. Sachhin Gajjaer, Founder and CEO of Sattrix, noted that translating regulatory requirements into day-to-day operations will be particularly challenging for large organisations managing personal data across multiple systems and digital platforms.
According to EY's India's Data Privacy Shift: Steering the DPDP Compliance and Readiness report, nearly 70 per cent of surveyed professionals said they were not very familiar with the DPDP Act and Rules, as reported by Business Standard. This awareness gap represents a major hurdle before organisations can operationalise compliance. Experts emphasise that privacy should become part of everyday business decisions, with leadership ensuring vendors and partners follow the same standards. Business leaders need to recognise that data protection will become a fundamental part of how business is conducted in India, moving beyond leaving compliance to legal or IT teams.
Experts advocate for a fundamental change from the traditional 'collect now, use later' approach to data management. As reported by Business Standard, Narendran emphasises that the starting point should be 'Do we really need this data?' instead of 'Can we collect this data?' Companies are expected to become more disciplined about seeking informed consent, collecting only data required for clearly defined purposes, maintaining transparent privacy notices, and deleting information once no longer needed. This shift requires businesses to overhaul existing processes but will ultimately improve enterprise data quality and strengthen customer confidence.
According to Pareddy, trust has become a key differentiator in today's world, with customers, investors, and business partners favouring organisations that demonstrate transparency and accountability in handling personal data, as reported by Business Standard. Strong privacy practices improve data governance, operational efficiency, and decision-making while reducing business risks. Narendran adds that organisations treating privacy as a trust-building exercise rather than simply a regulatory obligation will be better positioned to strengthen customer relationships and differentiate themselves in an increasingly digital economy. Companies genuinely ready by the compliance deadline will have privacy embedded across the organisation with complete data visibility, clear ownership governance, robust consent management, and privacy integrated into product design and business decision-making.
