How SEBI-Regulated Entities Can Prepare for DPDPA Compliance in 2025

Sameer Ahirrao -

As India moves toward implementing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), 2023, financial institutions, particularly those regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), must get ready for a fundamental change in how they manage, process, and protect personal data.

From brokers and mutual fund houses to registrars, fintechs, and investment platforms, SEBI-regulated entities handle sensitive personal information at a large scale. At Ardent Privacy, we help organizations navigate this change with TurtleShield, our platform for privacy compliance, data discovery, and automation. Here’s how SEBI-regulated entities can begin preparing, strategically and operationally.

1. Map Your Personal and Sensitive Data

DPDPA requires you to know what data you have, where it resides, why you’re collecting it, and how long you keep it. SEBI-regulated firms often work with decentralized data across:

  • CRM platforms, databases, and data lakes
  • Emails, spreadsheets, reports, and cloud storage
  • Third-party fintech integrations and APIs

Ardent Privacy’s TurtleShield Solution:

Our Data Discovery & Classification engine uses AI to scan across both structured and unstructured data sources, helping you:

  • Discover all personal and sensitive data (e.g., PAN, Aadhaar, income details)
  • Tag it with customizable labels (e.g., "KYC", "Transaction History")
  • Create a Data Bill of Materials (DBoM) for full visibility

2. Redesign Consent Flows Across Channels

Under the DPDPA, consent must be free, specific, informed, and unambiguous. Current consent practices in the financial services ecosystem need a revamp. SEBI-regulated entities collect user consent at multiple stages, account opening, product distribution, marketing communications. But fragmented systems and legacy forms often mean poor consent traceability.

TurtleShield’s Unified Consent Management (UCM) Module help:

  • Automates user consent capture, withdrawal, and renewal
  • Maintains detailed Consent Logs for audit trails
  • Helps operationalize consent across internal teams and third-party processors

3. Automate Data Principal Rights Management

SEBI-regulated entities must prepare for Data Principal Rights (DPRs) like:

  • Access to data
  • Correction of inaccurate records
  • Withdrawal of consent
  • Request for erasure

TurtleShield’s Data Principal Rights Fulfillment:

  • Tracks response timelines and SLAs
  • Provides user dashboards or APIs for self-service
  • Ensures you meet compliance with audit-ready logs

4. Get Visibility into Third-Party Processors

SEBI entities often share data with:

  • KYC Registration Agencies (KRAs)
  • Custodians and RTAs
  • Fintechs and NBFC partners

Under DPDPA, vendor risk becomes fiduciary risk.

TurtleShield’s Third-Party Risk Management:

  • Identifies processors with access to sensitive data
  • Automate third-party assessments and contractual compliance checks

5. Data Breach

Under DPDPA, “Significant Data Fiduciaries must notify breaches and maintain a grievance redressal mechanism.”

Cyber threats continue to target financial institutions. SEBI already mandates cyber audits and breach reporting, and DPDPA adds privacy risk as a compliance category.

How TurtleShield Data Breach Management (DBM) helps:

  • Manage Data Breach Management Process
  • Automate Incident Reporting
  • Assess Incident Impact and Determine Severity

Conclusion: Privacy is the New Pillar of Trust in Financial Markets

SEBI-regulated entities have long built trust through transparency and regulatory compliance. The DPDPA extends this trust to how you handle customer data. It's not just about ticking boxes, it’s about proactively protecting your investors, clients, and platform users in the digital age.

At Ardent Privacy, our platform TurtleShield simplifies complex privacy obligations into a user-friendly, auditable framework, built for scale, speed, and SEBI-readiness.