Gearing up for a privacy-first regime

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.”