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DPDP Insights › Manufacturing › Finance department

DPDP for the Finance department in Manufacturing

Reviewed by InfraVeritas360 ResearchFirst published Last reviewed

Sources: DPDP Act, 2023 and DPDP Rules, 2025 (MeitY) · Ministry of Labour and Employment (PIB) · India Code; PRS summary · PIB · Kerala Factories and Boilers Department (copy of the Rules)

Finance holds wages, contractor bills, dealer payments and subsidy claims.

Written for: Finance department, Manufacturing. Open this seat in the interactive tool

What is different here

Factories hold more personal data than most people think: large workforces and contract labour, gate passes, biometrics, medical checks, dealers and distributors, and in some industries, consumers and farmers. Most of it is collected at the gate, the medical centre and the dealer counter, not in head office. DPDP does not change your safety or labour duties. It asks you to know what you hold about each person, keep it safe, use it only for the reason it was collected, and answer when someone asks.

The first four things to sort out

  1. Limit access to wage and bank data.
  2. Keep records only for the legal period.
  3. Check payroll and payment vendors.
  4. Send files through portals, not email.

A worked example

Finance department

Mason reward payouts

  1. Day 1Finance gets a payout file with full bank details from the loyalty vendor.
  2. Day 2The file moves to the bank portal.
  3. Week 1Copies on laptops are deleted.
  4. AfterMonthly payouts only through the portal.

Evidence kept

  • Portal record
  • Deletion

Bank details belong in one place.

What others in the sector usually do. Finance teams are cleaning old dealer and farmer payment exports.

Where it usually goes wrong, by organisation type

Organisation typeHotspots
Chemicals and petrochemicalsWorker health surveillance records; Hazardous goods driver and transporter records; Emergency plan contact lists shared with authorities
FertilisersFarmer Aadhaar authentication at retailer PoS; Farmer lists from meetings and agronomy apps; Dealer and retailer KYC records
Automotive and auto componentsConnected-vehicle location data; Dealer-shared buyer lists; Mechanic loyalty apps
FMCG and consumer goodsContest and promotion entries; Retailer app data; Agency-held consumer lists
Steel, metals and miningTownship and hospital records; Contract labour biometrics; Resettlement records
Cement and building materialsMason loyalty bank details; Driver records; Dealer KYC
Textiles and apparelAuditor access to worker files; Hostel records; Agency-held worker data
Food processing and dairyFarmer payment data; Collection centre registers; Consumer complaint records

7 questions the Finance department asks, answered in full

Dealer, retailer, mason and mechanic loyalty programmes: what do we need?

Short answer: Consent with a clear notice; collect only what rewards need

Loyalty schemes collect names, phone numbers, photos, ID and bank details to pay rewards. Joining is a choice, so this rests on consent with a clear notice. Collect only what rewards and tax rules need, keep bank details in one secure place, and make leaving the scheme easy. The loyalty vendor acts for you. Dealer KYC for appointment is a separate purpose from loyalty.

From your seat: Finance department. Bank details only through the payout portal.
What the law says

Section 5 needs a notice. Section 6 sets what valid consent is, including easy withdrawal. Section 8(1) covers the loyalty vendor. Section 5 · Rule 3 · Section 6 · Section 8(1)–(2) · Section 8(5) · Rule 6 · Section 8(7) · Rule 8

Steps
  1. List the fields the app and forms collect, and drop what rewards do not need.
  2. Show a short notice at sign-up in the local language.
  3. Keep bank details in the payout system only.
  4. Add a data schedule to the loyalty vendor contract.
  5. Close and delete inactive members' data on a set period.
Evidence to keep
  • Field list with reasons
  • Sign-up notice and consent records
  • Vendor schedule
  • Inactive member deletion log
Common mistakes
  • Bank details in spreadsheets sent by email
  • Field staff enrolling masons without telling them
  • Loyalty data reused for unrelated offers

How long can we keep personal data?

Short answer: For the legal or business period, then erase

Keep data for as long as its purpose needs, or as long as a law requires, and then erase it. Every organisation must keep personal data and logs for at least one year under Rule 8(3). Write a retention schedule by record type, with the law or reason against each period.

From your seat: Finance department. Tax and audit rules require keeping some records for years. List them so they are kept, and the rest is deleted.
Example in Manufacturing

Set periods from the Labour Codes, the chemical rules and the fertiliser order, record type by record type.

What the law says

Section 8(7) asks for erasure when the purpose is over, unless a law requires retention. Rule 8(3) sets a one-year minimum for personal data, traffic data and logs. Section 8(7) · Rule 8 · Section 8(5) · Rule 6

Steps
  1. List the record types you hold.
  2. Write the period for each, with the law, regulator rule or business reason.
  3. Set a trigger for the period to start: end of relationship, date of transaction, exit date.
  4. Automate deletion where you can; for paper, schedule shredding.
  5. Keep a deletion log.
Evidence to keep
  • Retention schedule approved by Legal
  • Deletion log
  • Shredding or disposal certificates
Common mistakes
  • 'Keep everything forever' because storage is cheap
  • Deleting before the legal minimum
  • Forgetting email, shared drives and backups

What must a vendor contract say about personal data?

Short answer: Yes, every vendor that touches personal data

You stay responsible for what your vendors do with personal data. The contract should say what data they get, for what purpose, the security they must keep, how fast they must tell you about an incident, that sub-contractors need your approval, and how data is returned or deleted at the end.

From your seat: Finance department. Payroll, payment and collection vendors hold sensitive data. Check their contracts.
Example in Manufacturing

Manpower agencies, contractors, canteen and medical centre operators, transporters, loyalty and telematics vendors.

What the law says

Section 8(1) keeps responsibility with you. Section 8(2) allows a processor only under a valid contract. Rule 6 asks for security terms in that contract. Section 8(1)–(2) · Section 8(5) · Rule 6 · Section 8(6) · Rule 7 · Section 8(7) · Rule 8

Steps
  1. List vendors who receive or can see personal data.
  2. Rank them by how much and how sensitive.
  3. Add a data-protection schedule to each contract, starting with the top ten.
  4. Ask for evidence: certificates, test results, deletion confirmations.
  5. Review the top vendors every year.
Evidence to keep
  • Vendor register
  • Signed data-protection schedules
  • Annual review notes
Common mistakes
  • Relying on the vendor's standard terms
  • No incident-notice time
  • No exit and deletion clause

Who should be able to see personal data in our systems?

Short answer: Only those who need it, reviewed every quarter

Only people who need it for their job, and only the part they need. Use named accounts, give access by role, review it every quarter and remove it on the day someone leaves. Watch privileged accounts closely.

From your seat: Finance department. Limit who can see bank details and salary data, and log access.
Example in Manufacturing

Medical records and biometric data need named access. Supervisors get fitness notes, not results.

What the law says

Rule 6 names access control as a minimum safeguard, along with logs and monitoring that can detect misuse. Section 8(5) · Rule 6

Steps
  1. Write a role matrix for each key system.
  2. Replace shared logins with named accounts.
  3. Use multi-factor sign-in for admin and remote access.
  4. Review access every quarter with each manager.
  5. Remove access on the last working day.
Evidence to keep
  • Role matrix
  • Quarterly review sign-offs
  • Leaver removal report
Common mistakes
  • Generic logins on shared machines
  • Access that only grows
  • No review of vendor accounts

Do we need consent for employee data?

Short answer: Not for employment purposes; yes for anything extra

Usually not for normal employment purposes. Section 7(i) lets you process employee data for employment, such as payroll, attendance, safety and preventing corporate espionage. Anything beyond that, such as wellness apps, photos for marketing or sharing with a bank for offers, needs consent.

From your seat: Finance department. Salary and bank details are employment data; sharing them beyond employment needs care.
Example in Manufacturing

OSH Code medical examinations and registers are employment and legal duties; explain them in the worker notice.

What the law says

Section 7(i) covers employment purposes and safeguarding the employer from loss or liability. Notice, security, retention and rights still apply to employees. Section 7 · Section 5 · Rule 3 · Section 8(7) · Rule 8 · Sections 11–14 · Rule 14

Steps
  1. List what you collect from staff and why.
  2. Mark which items are employment purposes and which are extra.
  3. Take consent for the extras, separately.
  4. Give staff a short employee privacy notice.
  5. Set retention for ex-employee records.
Evidence to keep
  • Employee data list with basis
  • Employee privacy notice
  • Consent for extras
Common mistakes
  • A blanket consent clause in the offer letter
  • Keeping candidate data forever
  • Sharing staff data with vendors without terms

Something has gone wrong. What happens in the first 72 hours?

Short answer: Six hours for CERT-In; without delay for people and the Board; 72 hours for the detailed report

Contain it, then tell people. A reportable cyber incident goes to CERT-In within six hours of being noticed. Under DPDP, each affected person and the Data Protection Board must be told without delay, and the Board needs a detailed report within 72 hours. Sector regulators may have their own clock too.

From your seat: Finance department. A misdirected salary file or payment list is a breach. Report it to the DPO at once.
Example in Manufacturing

A stolen gate server or a lost medical register is a breach. CERT-In's six hours and the DPDP steps may both apply.

What the law says

Section 8(6) and Rule 7 set the DPDP steps. The CERT-In Directions of 28 April 2022 set the six-hour report. A breach includes accidental disclosure and loss of access, not only hacking. Section 8(6) · Rule 7 · Section 8(5) · Rule 6

Steps
  1. Name one incident lead and a back-up, with phone numbers that work at night.
  2. Write the first-hour steps: isolate, preserve logs, tell the DPO and the incident lead.
  3. Keep ready-made drafts for CERT-In, the regulator, the Board and affected people.
  4. Decide in advance who signs off each message.
  5. Rehearse once a year with the people who would actually be called.
Evidence to keep
  • Incident plan with clocks
  • Rehearsal record
  • Incident log with times of each step
Common mistakes
  • Waiting to finish the investigation before telling anyone
  • Treating a wrong email or a lost laptop as 'not a breach'
  • Only IT knowing the plan

Can personal data be stored or accessed outside India?

Short answer: Yes, unless a sector rule says otherwise

Under DPDP, yes, unless the government restricts a country, and none had been restricted when this page was last reviewed. A sector rule can be stricter, for example RBI's rule that payment system data must be stored only in India. Remote support access from abroad also counts as data going outside India.

From your seat: Finance department. Check where finance and payroll SaaS is hosted.
Example in Manufacturing

Buyers' social audits, parent company HR systems and telematics platforms may hold data abroad.

What the law says

Section 16 allows transfers unless restricted, and keeps stricter sector laws in force. Rule 15 adds conditions on making data available to foreign states. Section 16 · Rule 15 · Section 8(1)–(2)

Steps
  1. List where each system is hosted and where support teams log in from.
  2. Check sector rules for localisation.
  3. Put location and access terms in cloud and vendor contracts.
  4. Keep the list current; new SaaS tools change it quietly.
  5. Tell people in your notice if data goes abroad.
Evidence to keep
  • Hosting and access-location list
  • Contract clauses
  • Sector rule check
Common mistakes
  • Forgetting email, CRM and helpdesk SaaS
  • Ignoring overseas support logins
  • Assuming 'Indian vendor' means 'data in India'

The sections you will use most

Other rules that sit alongside DPDP

RuleWhat it saysWhat it means alongside DPDPSource
Labour Codes (in force from 21 November 2025)The Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 came into force on 21 November 2025. Together they rationalise 29 earlier labour laws.Worker and contract labour records now follow the codes and the rules under them. Set retention for these records against the codes and state rules, not against the old Acts.Ministry of Labour and Employment (PIB)
Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020Subsumes earlier Acts including the Factories Act, 1948 and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970. Requires a free annual health examination for employees where prescribed, licences for those hiring contract labour, and registers kept in the prescribed form, electronically or otherwise.Gate passes, attendance, contractor registers and medical checks are legal records. DPDP adds access limits, security and deletion when the legal period is over.India Code; PRS summary
OSH Code: workers in hazardous processesPre-employment, periodic and post-exposure medical examinations are mandatory. Health records are mandatory and accessible to employees and inspectors. Hazardous establishments need an on-site emergency plan and six-monthly mock drills.Health records are among the most sensitive data a plant holds. The worker and the inspector may see them; supervisors and the wider HR team should not.PIB
Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989Rule 13: the occupier prepares and keeps up to date an on-site emergency plan, with a mock drill every six months and the report made available to the Authority. Rule 14: the Authority prepares the off-site emergency plan. Rule 15: the occupier informs persons outside the site about the hazard and safety measures.Emergency plans carry names and phone numbers of staff, contractors and authorities. Share them because the law asks, keep them current, and remove people who have left.Kerala Factories and Boilers Department (copy of the Rules)
Chemical Accidents (Emergency Planning, Preparedness and Response) Rules, 1996Set up Central, State, District and Local Crisis Groups. The District Crisis Group reviews occupiers' on-site plans while preparing the district off-site plan. The Local Crisis Group prepares the local emergency plan for the industrial pocket, educates the population likely to be affected and answers public inquiries.Contact lists you give the crisis groups are shared for a legal duty. Send only what the plan needs, through a channel you can show.FAOLEX (text of the Rules)
Direct Benefit Transfer in fertilisers (Department of Fertilizers)Sale of all subsidised fertilisers to farmers and buyers is made through Point of Sale (PoS) devices at retail shops. Beneficiaries are identified through documents such as Aadhaar, Kisan Credit Card or Voter ID. Subsidy is released to fertiliser companies on the basis of actual sales by retailers to beneficiaries.Farmer identity and purchase data move through retailers and a government system. Your company sees part of it. Use what you see only for the scheme and supply work.Department of Fertilizers
Integrated Fertilizer Management System (iFMS)A pan-India digital platform developed by NIC for fertiliser DBT. It includes Aadhaar-based farmer authentication at PoS, captures transactions at manufacturing, import and retail points, and subsidy is released after a sale is recorded at the retailer level.iFMS is the government's system. Company dashboards and exports drawn from it still need access control and logs on your side.National Informatics Centre
Fertiliser (Control) Order, 1985Dealers may sell only under an authorisation letter or certificate of registration (clauses 7 and 8). A retail dealer displays daily stock and prices (clause 4) and issues a cash or credit memo in Form M to the purchaser (clause 5). Records and returns in Form N are kept when the Controller directs (clause 35).Dealer authorisation papers and sale memos are dealer and farmer records. Your dealer KYC files and any farmer details on memos need the same care as other personal data.Government of Odisha (copy of the Order)
CERT-In Directions, 28 April 2022Report specified cyber incidents to CERT-In within six hours of noticing them. Keep logs of ICT systems for a rolling 180 days within India. Sync clocks to NIC or NPL time servers, or servers traceable to them.Applies to plants as well as head office. Keep this clock next to the DPDP breach steps in one plan.CERT-In
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