Context: Recent draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025, highlighting concerns about the secretive rule-making process while emphasizing the long-delayed implementation of data protection rights in India.

• The recently released draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025 aim to clarify and implement the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. 

Key Components of the Draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules

• Consent Management: Data fiduciaries (entities collecting and processing data) must provide clear and accessible information about how personal data is processed, enabling informed consent. 
• Users have the right to withdraw consent at any time.
• Communication Standards: Requirements for online services to explain their data collection purposes.
• Child Protection: Specific measures for safeguarding children's data online.
• Institutional Framework: Establishment of the Data Protection Board of India (DPBI). 
• The Board will function as a digital office, enabling citizens to approach it digitally and have their complaints adjudicated efficiently.
• Government Exemptions: Standards for government agencies to be exempt from Act provisions.
• Breach Protocols: In case of a breach, fiduciaries must inform affected users and the Data Protection Board promptly.
• Restrictions on Transfer: Certain categories of personal data may be restricted from being transferred outside India.

Read the article on the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022!

• Lack of Transparency: Government's refusal to make stakeholder recommendations public.
• Restricted Participation: Limited access to consultation process for industry and public.
• Democratic Deficit: Absence of open deliberative process in critical policy-making.
• Implementation Gap: Seven-year wait since privacy was declared a fundamental right.
• Power Imbalance: Unequal footing between stakeholders due to information gap amongst stakeholders.
• Historical Pattern: Consistent secrecy since Justice B.N. Srikrishna committee.

Read the article on the Information Technology Rules, 2021!

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UPSC Practice Question

Critically examine the institutional and procedural aspects of the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, while suggesting measures to enhance transparency and effectiveness in its implementation. (250 words, 15 marks)