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DPDP Insights › Manufacturing › Product head

DPDP for the Product head 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)

Every loyalty app, agronomy app, warranty registration and connected-product app is a collection point. The notice and consent screens are now part of the product.

Written for: Product head, Manufacturing. Open this seat in the interactive tool

What is different here

Masons, mechanics and farmers often sign up on a field staff member's phone, in a hurry, so the notice must be short and in the local language. Sharing with insurers or partners and marketing offers need their own consent, separate from the service. Contests and some consumer products reach children, where parent consent and no targeting apply.

The first four things to sort out

  1. Show a short notice in the local language before the first field.
  2. Ask only for what rewards or the service needs.
  3. Keep partner sharing and offers as separate, unticked choices.
  4. Make leaving the scheme or stopping offers easy inside the app.

A worked example

Product head

Redesigning a mason loyalty app sign-up

  1. BriefThe current sign-up asks for ID, PAN, bank details and a photo on the first screen, with one tick box for terms and offers.
  2. ReviewProduct and the DPO keep only what rewards need. Bank details move to the payout step, when the first reward is due.
  3. BuildA short notice in the local language appears before the first field. Offers become a separate, unticked choice.
  4. AfterA 'leave the scheme' option goes into app settings, and the notice version and screen captures are kept.

Evidence kept

  • Old and new screen captures
  • Field list with reasons
  • Notice version
  • Consent record sample

Ask for each piece of data at the moment it is needed, not all at once.

What others in the sector usually do. Many product teams start by walking through the loyalty or farmer app sign-up screen by screen with the DPO.

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

10 questions the Product head asks, answered in full

Connected vehicles and product registration: what can we do with the data?

Short answer: For the service the buyer chose; anything more needs consent

Connected vehicles and smart products send location, usage and driving data, and registration gives you the buyer's contact details. Use it for what the buyer signed up for: warranty, recalls, safety and the services in the app. Sharing with insurers, finance partners or for marketing needs specific consent. Location data shows where people live and go, so keep only what each service needs.

What the law says

Section 6 needs specific consent for each purpose. Section 5 needs a notice. Section 16 applies if telematics data goes abroad. Section 5 · Rule 3 · Section 6 · Section 8(5) · Rule 6 · Section 8(7) · Rule 8 · Section 16 · Rule 15 · Sections 11–14 · Rule 14

Steps
  1. List the data each connected feature sends and why.
  2. Show the notice in the app and at delivery, by feature.
  3. Ask separately for insurer, partner and marketing sharing.
  4. Set retention for location history and trip data.
  5. Check where the telematics vendor stores and supports data.
Evidence to keep
  • Feature and data list
  • App notice and consent screens
  • Retention settings
  • Telematics vendor schedule
Common mistakes
  • Location kept for years by default
  • Dealer handing buyer lists to insurers
  • Telematics support from abroad with no contract terms

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.

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 do we build privacy into a new product or system?

Short answer: Four questions at design, then build the basics in

Ask four questions at the design stage: what personal data, why, for how long, and who sees it. Then build in what the Act assumes: a notice, consent where needed, role-based access, logs of record views, a way to delete, and a way to answer requests. Adding these after launch costs far more.

From your seat: Product head. Add four questions to every feature brief: what data, why, how long, who sees it.
What the law says

Sections 5 to 12 assume systems that can show notices, record consent, limit access, log, delete and answer requests. Section 5 · Rule 3 · Section 6 · Section 8(5) · Rule 6 · Section 8(7) · Rule 8 · Sections 11–14 · Rule 14

Steps
  1. Add the four questions to design templates.
  2. Drop data you do not need.
  3. Build access roles and record-view logs.
  4. Build deletion and request export.
  5. Register the system in the inventory at launch.
Evidence to keep
  • Design review records
  • Inventory entries
  • Deletion tests
Common mistakes
  • Privacy review only at launch
  • Collecting 'in case we need it'
  • No delete function

Can we use customer data for analytics and models?

Short answer: Yes, within the purpose or with consent

Yes, where the use fits the purpose people were told, or you have consent for it. Improving the service people signed up for usually fits. Selling insights, profiling for third parties or targeting children does not. Mask or aggregate wherever the question allows, and give analysis copies their own deletion date.

From your seat: Product head. Product analytics needs a basis like any other use.
What the law says

Section 4 needs a lawful basis for each purpose. Section 6 needs specific consent. Section 9 bars behavioural monitoring of children. Section 8(3) asks for accuracy when data drives decisions. Section 4 · Section 6 · Section 9 · Rules 10, 12 · Section 8(3)

Steps
  1. Write the question and the data needed.
  2. Check the purpose people were told.
  3. Mask or aggregate by default.
  4. Get consent for uses outside the purpose.
  5. Set a deletion date for the copy.
Evidence to keep
  • Purpose checks
  • Data specifications
  • Retention entries
Common mistakes
  • Using all data because it is there
  • Analysis copies with no end date
  • Profiling children

What should our privacy notice say, and where must people see it?

Short answer: Yes, at every point where you collect data

A notice must tell people, in plain words, what data you collect, why, how they can withdraw consent, how they can use their rights and how they can complain to the Data Protection Board. It has to stand on its own, separate from long terms and conditions, and be shown at the point where data is collected.

From your seat: Product head. The notice must change when the feature changes what you collect.
Example in Manufacturing

Gate pass forms, contract worker enrolment, the medical centre, dealer and mason app sign-ups and warranty cards each need a short notice, in the language people use.

What the law says

Section 5 and Rule 3 ask for a notice that can be understood on its own, with an itemised list of the data and the purpose for each item. Data you already hold from before the Act also needs a notice, as soon as reasonably practicable. Section 5 · Rule 3 · Section 6 · Sections 11–14 · Rule 14

Steps
  1. List every point where personal data comes in: forms, apps, counters, calls, emails, partner feeds.
  2. Write one short notice per collection point, with the data items and purpose side by side.
  3. Add how to withdraw consent, how to make a request and the DPO or contact person's details.
  4. Offer the notice in English and in the languages your workers and customers actually use.
  5. Keep each version with the date it went live.
Evidence to keep
  • Screenshots or copies of the notice at each collection point, with dates
  • Notice version history
  • Translations, where used
Common mistakes
  • Hiding the notice inside terms and conditions
  • One notice for everything, with no link between data items and purposes
  • Forgetting old data collected before the Act

Someone withdraws consent. What has to stop, and how fast?

Short answer: Stop that use quickly, across every system and vendor

Withdrawal must be as easy as giving consent. Once someone withdraws, you and every vendor working for you must stop that use within a reasonable time. What was done before withdrawal stays lawful, and data that a law requires you to keep is kept.

From your seat: Product head. Withdrawal should take the same number of taps as giving consent.
Example in Manufacturing

A mason leaves the loyalty scheme in the app. Offers stop, and the vendor closes his account within the set period.

What the law says

Section 6(4) to 6(6) give the right to withdraw at any time, with the same ease, and require processors to stop as well. Section 8(7) then asks for erasure unless a law requires retention. Section 6 · Section 8(7) · Rule 8 · Section 8(1)–(2)

Steps
  1. Give one simple way to withdraw on every channel where consent is taken.
  2. Record the withdrawal against the person and the purpose.
  3. Push the change to every system and vendor that uses that purpose.
  4. Confirm to the person, in writing, what has stopped and what is kept by law.
  5. Check a sample every month to see that the change actually reached every list.
Evidence to keep
  • Withdrawal log with time stamps
  • Proof that downstream systems and vendors updated
  • Confirmation sent to the person
Common mistakes
  • Withdrawal by email only, while consent was one tap in an app
  • Stopping in the main system but not in vendor lists
  • Deleting records a law requires you to keep

Do we process children's data, and what changes if we do?

Short answer: Check every channel; children often appear where you least expect

Anyone under 18 is a child under the Act. For a child's data you need verifiable consent from a parent or lawful guardian, and you must not track, behaviourally monitor or show targeted ads to children. Some classes and purposes are exempt under Rule 12 and the Fourth Schedule, for example healthcare to the extent needed to protect the child's health, and educational institutions for their educational work.

From your seat: Product head. If children can sign up, plan parent consent and no tracking.
Example in Manufacturing

Product contests and school promotions may reach children. Parent consent and no targeted ads apply.

What the law says

Section 9 sets the duties. Rule 10 explains how to verify the parent. Rule 12 and the Fourth Schedule list the exemptions. Section 9 · Rules 10, 12 · Section 6

Steps
  1. Find where children's data enters: customers, dependants, interns, visitors, scholarships, app sign-ups.
  2. Decide whether an exemption in the Fourth Schedule applies to that purpose.
  3. Where none applies, add an age question and a parent-consent step.
  4. Switch off tracking and targeted ads for under-18 users.
  5. Record the decision for each channel.
Evidence to keep
  • Channel-by-channel note on children's data
  • Parent-consent records
  • Ad and tracking settings
Common mistakes
  • Assuming 'we are B2B, so no children'
  • Using the age 13 or 16 from foreign laws
  • Treating a tick-box from the child as parental consent

Do we need a Data Protection Impact Assessment?

Short answer: Required only for SDFs; good practice for high-risk changes

By law, only Significant Data Fiduciaries must do a yearly impact assessment. For everyone else it is good practice for high-risk changes: new tracking, profiling, large data sharing, children's data or moving data abroad. A short assessment before the change is cheaper than fixing it later.

From your seat: Product head. New features that profile or track people need an assessment.
What the law says

Section 10 and Rule 13 require a yearly impact assessment for Significant Data Fiduciaries. Section 10 · Rule 13 · Section 9 · Rules 10, 12 · Section 16 · Rule 15

Steps
  1. Define what counts as a high-risk change for you.
  2. Use a two-page template.
  3. Record the data, purpose, risks and safeguards.
  4. Get the DPO's view before approval.
  5. Keep it with the project record.
Evidence to keep
  • Assessment template
  • Completed assessments
  • DPO views
Common mistakes
  • Treating it as paperwork after launch
  • A 40-page template nobody completes
  • No trigger list

Someone asks what data we hold about them. What do we send?

Short answer: Yes, a clear summary, inside the published timeline

Send a summary of the personal data you hold about them and what you do with it, and the names of the other organisations you shared it with and what was shared. Check the person's identity first, log the request and keep a copy of your reply.

From your seat: Product head. Design a way for users to see and download their data.
Example in Manufacturing

A contract worker's summary should include what the agency and the medical centre hold for you.

What the law says

Section 11 gives the right to a summary and the list of organisations it was shared with. Rule 14 asks you to publish how requests are made and to answer within the period you publish. Sections 11–14 · Rule 14 · Section 8(9)–(10) · Rules 9, 14

Steps
  1. Log the request in one register the day it arrives.
  2. Verify identity using details you already hold.
  3. Search every system, including vendors' copies.
  4. Write a plain summary: what data, why it is used, who received it.
  5. Send it, and file the request, search notes and reply.
Evidence to keep
  • Request register
  • Search notes for each request
  • Copy of each reply with date
Common mistakes
  • Sending raw database dumps
  • Forgetting data held by vendors
  • No identity check before sending

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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