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The 3rd and main DPDP commencement date is computed as 13 May 2027, which is interpretation until officially confirmed.

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Sources last verified on 28 October 2026. Methodology

DPDP Act 2023 · Section 16

Processing of personal data outside India

Status
Not yet in force
Commencement
13 May 2027 · computed date, presented as interpretation until officially confirmed (how it is computed)
Source
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (Gazette print hosted by MeitY) · Gazette page 11
Last verified
17 August 2026

What section 16 says, in plain English

Plain English

Not yet in force; the computed date is 13 May 2027, which is interpretation until officially confirmed. The summary below is what the provision says, not what is in force today. Status last checked 29 October 2026 against the MeitY library and India Code.

The Central Government may issue a notification restricting a Data Fiduciary from transferring personal data for processing to any country or territory it names. Any other Indian law that imposes stronger protection or tighter restrictions on such transfers outside India continues to apply and is not limited by this section.

How 13 May 2027 is computed, and why it could be 1 day later

Publication date 13 November 2025 printed on Gazette issue No. 757, plus eighteen months. The notification states a period rather than a calendar date and does not state how the period is counted. The eGazette record of this same issue carries a code embedding 14112025, which would move the computed date by 1 day. Taken with the unstated counting, the 2 uncertainties together could move it by up to 2 days, to 15 May 2027 at the latest; the printed masthead date is used, and the interpretation label carries both uncertainties. CORRECTED 2026-08-25: this note previously also cited the Government's own PIB release for 14 November 2025. That release is about the DPDP Rules, 2025, G.S.R. 846(E) in Gazette issue No. 760, and says nothing about this Act commencement notification, G.S.R. 843(E) in issue No. 757. The missing space in the phrase "section 6,sections 7 to 10" appears as printed in the Gazette text layer. A MeitY press release of 16 May 2026 (PRID 2261823) reports the Secretary, MeitY, as noting that the Act becomes fully enforceable from 13 May 2027; it is reported speech in a press release and not an instrument, so it corroborates this computation and does not confirm it, and the date basis stays derived.

Official text of section 16

Official requirement · verbatim

Section 16. Processing of personal data outside India.(1) The Central Government may, by notification, restrict the transfer of personal data by a Data Fiduciary for processing to such country or territory outside India as may be so notified. (2) Nothing contained in this section shall restrict the applicability of any law for the time being in force in India that provides for a higher degree of protection for or restriction on transfer of personal data by a Data Fiduciary outside India in relation to any personal data or Data Fiduciary or class thereof.

Commencement basis · Sections 3 to 5, section 6(1) to (8) and (10), sections 7 to 17, section 27 other than section 27(1)(d), sections 28 to 34, sections 36 and 37, and section 44(2) of the Act

“(c) eighteen months from the date of publication of this gazette, on which the provision of sections 3 to 5, sub-sections (1) to (8) and (10) of section 6,sections 7 to 10, sections 11 to 17, section 27 except clause (d) of sub-section (1) of the said section, sections 28 to 34, 36, 37 and sub-section (2) of section 44 of the said Act shall come into force.”

From commencement notification G.S.R. 843(E), Gazette issue No. 757, printed date 13 November 2025.

Sources cited on this page

  1. [1]
    The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (Gazette print hosted by MeitY) (Act No. 22 of 2023), s. 16, p. 11. Published 11 August 2023. Official source ↗ · Official requirement · Verified 17 August 2026Not yet in force; the computed date is 13 May 2027, which is interpretation until officially confirmed
  2. [2]
    Commencement notification for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (G.S.R. 843(E)), (c), p. 2. Published 13 November 2025. Official source ↗ Also on MeitY (byte identical) ↗ · Official requirement · Verified 17 August 2026Document status: published; in effect per its own termsNotification G.S.R. 843(E) names this section in the group that comes into force eighteen months from the date of publication of the notification gazette. The computed calendar date, 13 May 2027, is interpretation until officially confirmed.
  3. [3]
    Commencement notification for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (G.S.R. 843(E)), (c), p. 2. Published 13 November 2025. Official source ↗ Also on MeitY (byte identical) ↗ · Official requirement · Verified 17 August 2026Document status: published; in effect per its own terms
    eighteen months from the date of publication of this gazette, on which the provision of sections 3 to 5, sub-sections (1) to (8) and (10) of section 6,sections 7 to 10, sections 11 to 17, section 27 except clause (d) of sub-section (1) of the said section, sections 28 to 34, 36, 37 and sub-section (2) of section 44 of the said Act shall come into force.
  4. [4]
    Commencement notification for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (G.S.R. 843(E)), p. 1. Published 13 November 2025. Official source ↗ Also on MeitY (byte identical) ↗ · Interpretation, requires judgment · Verified 17 August 2026Document status: published; in effect per its own termsThe calendar date 13 May 2027 is computed from the printed publication date and is presented as interpretation until officially confirmed. It aligns with the derived date for the main group of the DPDP Rules 2025.
  5. [5]
    “National Consultative Workshop on ‘Strengthening Cyber Security Frameworks for State Data’” (Press Information Bureau release, PRID 2261823) (Release ID 2261823), p. 1. Published 16 May 2026. Official source ↗ · An official record, not a legal requirement · Verified 18 October 2026Document status: published official press release of 16 May 2026 on a MeitY workshop of 11 May 2026; it reports the Secretary, MeitY, in reported speech, as noting that the Act becomes fully enforceable from 13 May 2027; a press release and not an instrument, it cites no provision and no publication dateA press release of 16 May 2026 reporting the Secretary, MeitY, in reported speech, as noting that the Act becomes fully enforceable from 13 May 2027: the only official statement this site has located, as at 18 October 2026, that names the date this group computes to. Not an instrument and not a confirmation; the period in paragraph (c) is what the notification states.