What is a DPDP audit?

A DPDP audit is an independent assessment of how your organisation collects, uses, stores and shares digital personal data, measured against the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and the DPDP Rules. DPDP Audits tests 67 controls mapped across 21 sections of the Act and reports the gaps, with a remediation roadmap signed off by a CISA-certified auditor.

Who needs to comply with the DPDP Act 2023?

Any organisation that processes digital personal data in India, and any organisation outside India that processes such data to offer goods or services to people in India, is a Data Fiduciary under the Act. This covers banks, NBFCs, fintechs, hospitals, e-commerce, EdTech, SaaS and most businesses that hold customer or employee data.

When do DPDP Act obligations come into force?

The DPDP Rules 2025 were notified in November 2025 with a phased rollout. Provisions setting up the Data Protection Board of India took effect immediately, Consent Manager provisions follow after 12 months, and the core Data Fiduciary obligations — notice, consent, security safeguards, breach reporting and data principal rights — apply 18 months after notification, from May 2027.

What are the penalties for non-compliance with the DPDP Act?

The Data Protection Board of India can impose penalties of up to ₹250 crore for a failure to take reasonable security safeguards to prevent a personal data breach, with other penalties scaled by the type of breach under the Schedule to the Act.

How much does a DPDP compliance audit cost?

A one-time, project-based DPDP audit costs ₹1.5 lakh to ₹3.5 lakh per engagement. Ongoing DPO advisory on a monthly retainer costs ₹25,000 to ₹45,000 per month. Prices are indicative; the final fee depends on organisation size, data volume and scope, and GST applies.

Is AI used to reach audit conclusions?

No. AI-assisted Computer Audit Tools (CAATs) gather and organise evidence and report observations only. Every compliance determination, materiality assessment and audit opinion is made personally by Ram Krishan Dudeja, CISA, in line with ISACA and IIA professional standards.

Do you offer DPDP audits across India?

Yes. DPDP Audits works with organisations Pan-India, both remotely and on-site.

Can an IS audit or CERT-IN empanelled firm partner with DPDP Audits?

Yes. Under the Annual Audit Partner model, DPDP Audits works as a sub-contractor adding a DPDP module to your existing client engagements, on a day rate of ₹18,000 to ₹28,000 or a 20–30% revenue share, with the report co-branded with your firm.

DPDP Compliance for Insurers, Brokers and TPAs

Insurance runs on personal data: proposal forms, KYC, medical history, claims documents, bank details and nominee information. Insurers, brokers, corporate agents, web aggregators and TPAs all handle this data, and each is a Data Fiduciary or Data Processor under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023.

How DPDP applies to insurance

Many hands on one policy: a single health policy can involve an aggregator, an agent, the insurer, a TPA and a network hospital. Who is the Fiduciary and who is the Processor must be clear for each flow, and written into contracts.
Health and claims data: medical records gathered for underwriting and claims deserve the strongest safeguards, as a breach can attract penalties of up to ₹250 crore.
Regulatory retention: where insurance regulation or other law requires records to be kept, that continues to apply. DPDP erasure duties apply once no such requirement remains.
Nominees and dependants: policies carry personal data of nominees and family members who never signed anything. Notice and lawful basis must cover them too.

Gaps commonly found in insurance

Lead data from aggregators and call centres reused for cross-selling without fresh consent
Proposal forms bundling consent for underwriting, marketing and data sharing
Agents and POSPs storing customer documents on personal phones and messaging apps
Claims documents shared between TPAs, hospitals and investigators by email with no controls
Lapsed-policy and rejected-proposal data kept with no documented retention basis
No mechanism to honour consent withdrawal across the insurer and its intermediaries

Priorities before May 2027

Map data flows across the distribution chain, the insurer, TPAs and hospitals.
Define Fiduciary and Processor roles for each flow, and update contracts to match.
Separate consent for underwriting, servicing, marketing and data sharing.
Give agents and POSPs secure tools so customer documents stay off personal devices.
Set retention rules that reconcile regulatory requirements with DPDP erasure.

See DPDP Rules 2025 explained for the timeline, and the DPDP audit checklist for a full self-assessment.

DPDP Compliance for Insurers, Brokers and TPAs

How DPDP applies to insurance

Gaps commonly found in insurance

Priorities before May 2027

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