Personal Data under the DPDP Act

Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, personal data means any data about an individual who is identifiable by or in relation to that data. Thus, identifiability is the central test: information qualifies when it identifies an individual either by itself or through its connection with other information.

Elements of the statutory definition

The definition in Section 2(t) must be read with the Act's definition of data in Section 2(h), which covers representations of information, facts, concepts, opinions or instructions suitable for human or automated communication, interpretation or processing.

• The information must be about an individual, not merely an organisation or an impersonal subject.
• The individual may be identifiable directly from the data or indirectly through the data's relationship with other information.
• Names, identification details or online attributes may constitute personal data when they satisfy the identifiability test.

Digital scope of the Act

Although personal data is defined broadly, the Act regulates digital personal data. Under Section 2(n), this means personal data in digital form.

• Under Section 3, the Act covers data collected digitally and non-digital data that is subsequently digitised.
• It also applies to processing outside India when connected with offering goods or services to Data Principals within India.
• A Data Principal is the individual to whom the personal data relates.

Important distinctions

The Act adopts a common definition rather than separately classifying personal data as sensitive or critical. Information that cannot identify an individual, either by itself or in relation to other data, does not satisfy the statutory definition.

• Identifiability depends on the relationship between the information and the individual, not merely on the format of the information.
• The Act excludes from its application certain personal data processed for personal or domestic purposes and specified publicly available personal data.