RAS question
India's Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act was enacted in which year?
Correct answer: (C) 2023.
India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act was enacted in 2023.
Explanation
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act is a 2023 law: the official Gazette text calls it the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, lists it as Act No. 22 of 2023, and records that it received the President's assent on 11 August 2023. Its stated purpose is to regulate the processing of digital personal data while recognising both an individual's right to protect personal data and the need to process such data for lawful purposes. That is why 2023 is the only defensible answer. The Act also raised a governance debate: while it addresses some data-protection concerns, experts found gaps in building a stronger framework, especially on surveillance oversight and algorithmic bias.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) 2019 is too early because the official law is titled the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and was assented to in August 2023.
- (B) 2021 does not match the official Act number or Gazette text, both of which identify the statute as a 2023 Act.
- (D) 2024 is too late because the official Gazette text records Presidential assent on 11 August 2023.
Concept
This tests the governance and digital-rights part of the Indian polity syllabus, where examiners often ask the year and purpose of recent statutes. It recurs in RAS because data protection links constitutional rights, lawful state action and technology regulation.