Statutory notice

Privacy notice

How the Forum handles personal data, stated in the terms the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 requires of any Data Fiduciary.

Version 1.0 Published 29 July 2026 Applies to dpdpaforum.org and Forum correspondence
In one line

The website itself collects nothing, no cookies, no analytics, no tracking, no forms that transmit. The only personal data the Forum holds is what a person deliberately sends it in correspondence, and it is used solely to reply to that correspondence.

1  Who this notice is from

This notice is issued by DPDPA Forum, a Section 8 non-profit company incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013, CIN U85499MH2026NPL470552. For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 ("the Act"), the Forum is a Data Fiduciary in respect of the personal data described in clause 3.

The Forum is not a regulator, not a government body, and not affiliated with the Government of India. It publishes standards and interpretation guidance; it exercises no statutory power over any person. Nothing in this notice is a statement of law.

2  What the website collects

This website is built to collect nothing. Specifically, it:

Cookies, of any category, including strictly necessaryNone set
Analytics, pixels, session recording, fingerprintingNot used
Advertising and third-party trackersNot used
Account registration or loginNot offered
Server access logs kept by the hosting providerSee clause 3(d)

Web fonts are requested from Google Fonts, which receives the requesting IP address as a technical necessity of delivery. No other third party is contacted by any page on this site.

3  Personal data collected in correspondence

The Forum holds personal data only where a person sends it. In each case the data is provided by the Data Principal directly and voluntarily.

(a)  Expressions of interest

Name, professional email, organisation and role, and the free-text statement of how the person wishes to participate. Sent by messaging or written correspondence at the person's initiative.

(b)  Convening and Conclave participation

Name, organisation, designation, contact details, and any accessibility or dietary requirement a delegate chooses to disclose for the purpose of attending a chapter.

(c)  Consultation and comment on draft standards

Name and affiliation of the commenter, together with the comment. Where the Forum publishes a record of comments received, it publishes the name and affiliation as attribution unless the commenter asks in writing that the comment be recorded anonymously.

(d)  Technical logs

The hosting provider records IP address, timestamp, requested path and user agent for each request, for availability and abuse prevention. The Forum does not read these logs for any other purpose and does not join them to any other record.

The Forum does not seek, and asks that correspondents do not send, personal data beyond what a matter requires, in particular financial account details, government identifiers, or health information.

4  Purposes and lawful basis

Personal data is processed only for the specified purpose for which it was given, as required by Section 5 and Section 6 of the Act:

PurposeBasis
Replying to, and keeping a record of, correspondenceConsent, Section 6
Assessing an expression of interest in participationConsent, Section 6
Administering attendance at a Conclave chapterConsent, Section 6
Publishing the record of a public consultationConsent, Section 6
Keeping the site available and preventing abuseLegitimate use, Section 7
Meeting the Forum's own statutory and filing obligationsLegitimate use, Section 7

Personal data is never used for advertising, profiling, automated decision-making, or any purpose other than those listed. It is never sold, rented, or licensed. The Forum does not send marketing communications.

5  Retention

Under Section 8(7) of the Act, personal data is erased once the purpose for which it was collected is no longer being served. The Forum's periods are:

Correspondence that leads to no continuing engagement12 months
Conclave delegate records after the chapter concludes12 months
Records of participation in a working groupDuration of participation, then 3 years
Attributed comments in a published consultation recordPermanent, as public record
Technical logs90 days
Records the Companies Act, 2013 requires to be preservedAs that Act prescribes

6  Disclosure and processors

The Forum discloses personal data only in these circumstances:

  • To a Data Processor engaged by the Forum under a written contract that restricts processing to the Forum's instructions, presently limited to website hosting, electronic mail, and messaging.
  • Where disclosure is required by a court, by the Data Protection Board of India, or by another authority acting under a law in force.
  • Where the Data Principal directs the Forum, in writing, to disclose it.

Where a processor stores data outside India, that is permitted under Section 16 of the Act subject to any restriction the Central Government notifies. The Forum maintains a current list of its processors and will supply it on request under clause 12.

7  Safeguards

Under Section 8(5) of the Act the Forum takes reasonable security safeguards to prevent a personal data breach. These are: encryption in transit for the whole website and all correspondence channels; access to correspondence restricted to the officers whose function requires it; no use of shared credentials; and collection minimisation as a matter of design, which is why this site carries no forms that transmit.

In the event of a personal data breach the Forum will give intimation to the Data Protection Board of India and to each affected Data Principal, in the form and manner Section 8(6) requires.

8  Rights of the Data Principal

A person whose personal data the Forum holds may exercise the following rights. The Forum charges nothing and asks for no identity document beyond what is needed to be satisfied the request comes from the right person.

Access, Section 11

A summary of the personal data held, the processing undertaken, and the identity of any other fiduciary or processor with whom it has been shared.

Correction, completion, updating and erasure, Section 12

Erasure is given effect unless retention is required for a specified purpose or by a law in force, for example an attributed comment already published as part of a consultation record.

Withdrawal of consent, Section 6(4) to 6(6)

Withdrawal is as easy as giving consent was: one message to the address in clause 12, with no reason required. Processing stops within a reasonable time of withdrawal.

Grievance redressal, Section 13

A readily available means of registering a grievance, described in clause 9.

Nomination, Section 14

A Data Principal may nominate another person to exercise these rights in the event of death or incapacity.

The Act also places duties on the Data Principal under Section 15, including that a request be genuine and not frivolous.

9  Grievance redressal

A grievance about the Forum's handling of personal data may be registered through the contact channel in clause 12, marked Grievance, personal data. The Forum acknowledges within 7 days and responds substantively within 30 days of receipt.

If the response is unsatisfactory, or the period lapses without one, the Data Principal may complain to the Data Protection Board of India under Section 13(3) of the Act. Exhausting the Forum's own process first is a precondition to that complaint.

Grievances about the Forum's standards work, the substance of a published framework, or the conduct of a working group, follow a separate route set out on the Governance page and are not handled under this clause.

10  Children and persons with a guardian

The Forum's work is directed at professionals and institutions. It does not knowingly collect the personal data of a child, and it neither undertakes tracking or behavioural monitoring of children nor directs advertising at them, conduct Section 9(3) of the Act prohibits in any case.

Where a Forum programme is delivered to students below eighteen, verifiable consent of the parent or lawful guardian is obtained before any personal data is processed, as Section 9(1) requires. If a child's personal data has reached the Forum without such consent, notice under clause 12 will cause it to be erased.

11  Amendment of this notice

This notice is versioned. A change that widens the purposes of processing, adds a category of personal data, or lengthens a retention period takes effect no earlier than 30 days after the new version is published, and is announced on this page. Superseded versions remain retrievable so that a person can see what was in force when their data was given.

12  Contact

Requests under clause 8, grievances under clause 9, and any question about this notice should be addressed to the officer responsible for data protection at the Forum, through either channel below.

Messaging +91 90946 23456
Written correspondence

DPDPA Forum, at the registered office recorded against CIN U85499MH2026NPL470552 on the register of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Escalation

Data Protection Board of India, under Section 13(3) of the Act, after the Forum's own process is exhausted.

Read with the Terms of use, which govern the use of this website and of the standards published on it.