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Research Paper | Law | Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026 | Pages: 964 - 973 | India
Balancing Privacy and State Power: A Constitutional Analysis of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in Light of Puttaswamy and the GDPR
Abstract: The digital revolution has vastly increased the collection and processing of personal data by both governments and corporations. In India, the landmark Supreme Court judgment Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2017) unequivocally recognized privacy as a fundamental right essential to individual dignity and autonomy. Global frameworks like the EU's GDPR set high benchmarks for data protection. In this context, India enacted the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) on August 11, 2023. The Act seeks to balance citizens' right to protect their personal data with legitimate social needs. This paper critically examines the DPDP Act's provisions, especially its "consent-based" model for private entities and its expansive exemptions for state agencies. We analyze whether the new law incorporates the constitutional standards of Puttaswamy (such as strict necessity and proportionality) and how it measures up against GDPR's principles. Our research finds that while the Act introduces a comprehensive framework of rights (access, correction, erasure) and duties (security safeguards, breach notification) for data fiduciary, it omits certain individual rights (like data portability) and grants broad, ill-defined powers to the state. We recommend legislative and institutional reforms - for instance, narrowing exemption clauses and strengthening the Data Protection Board ? to realign India's law with constitutional ideals. The paper concludes that embedding privacy-by-design and proportionality in law is essential if India is to reconcile effective digital governance with the fundamental right to privacy.
Keywords: Data Privacy, Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, K.S. Puttaswamy, Consent, State Surveillance, GDPR
How to Cite?: Hansapriya S, "Balancing Privacy and State Power: A Constitutional Analysis of India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in Light of Puttaswamy and the GDPR", Volume 15 Issue 8, August 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 964-973, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26813120806, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26813120806