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With its wave effects on global trade war and industries and supply chains, the spotlight on personal data security and digital security has never intensified. There is automotive in areas feeling this change, which is undergoing a deep change. Digital technologies are now central for vehicle design, user experience and brand discrimination strategies for vehicle manufacturers worldwide.
As the strict American tariffs collide with the rules, the partnerships in countries are seen to diversify and reach new markets, there is a significant increase for strong data governance framework.
To emerge as a strategic option in India, global supply chains and a rapidly growing digital economy, now Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Rule 2025 must move fast to finalize. The government expected to formalize the rules this month, the time is cooked to translate the DPDP Act to a comprehensive and implementation, which is together for the empowerment for India.
The draft of DPDP Rule 2025 is designed to protect the fundamental rights of citizens in the digital age, which should be handled, processed and secured, for laying clear protocols for this. Once informed, these rules will conduct the Digital Person Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act), which will strengthen India’s comprehensive commitment to establish a strong data governance structure that can keep pace with global norms and technological progresses.
Race for technical leadership
At the recent Paris AI Summit, global leaders unanimously called for a adaptive regulatory structure that support innovation without compromising privacy. As techniques such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) develop rapidly, regulations must be agile, enabling development by ensuring the sanctity of personal data.
In this race for technical leadership and digital sovereignty, the real challenge lies in bringing data in a delicate balance, ensuring development, innovation and digital sovereignty. For India, DPDP Rules 2025 can mark a significant moment in establishing a responsible digital democracy and its dual identity as a global technical power plant.
“The government sees the motor vehicle sector as a data-rich place, and it will be ruled by specific guidelines under the DPDP Rule 2025,” the chadha and chadha say the trademark and the senior colleague of the trademark and the data secrecy in the intellectual property law firm and the head of the data privacy Ankita Sabarwal. “A lot is happening in the technical world, and trying to catch the law.”
Describing how Indian auto companies had to align with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018 to work with European Union-based businesses, saying, Sabharwal says, “The world sees India as a promising partner, but companies will only cooperate if you are at least conforming to your laws.”
Sabharwal also indicates upcoming government notification under DPDP Rules 2025 that can blacklist some countries for data exchange – a step that can significantly shape India’s international digital trade scenario. She says, “There is no clarity yet which country will be blacklisted.” “Once informed, we will learn.”
Regardless, data transfers from across the border will be an important part of global motor vehicle systems. For Indian manufacturers, suppliers and technical providers, compliance with a strong, clear and further visible DPDP structure will be non-conversion-only for data security, but also for long-term global relevance.
Connected vehicle and privacy equation
Connected cars, autonomous vehicles, and smart mobility solutions generate large amounts of sensitive personal data -GPS locations to produce habits and facial identification. Ensuring this is ethically and safely handled, it is at the center of emerging rules.
Advocate Kushal Kumar, Partner, Erudite Legal says, “Vehicles collect huge information about drivers and passengers through GPS system, navigation and other systems. DPDP rules must make clear consent, encryption and strong privacy security measures mandatory.”
They argue that DPDP Rule 2025 should not only align with domestic standards, but also to comply with international data privacy laws, especially for companies engaged in AI development.
“Autonomous vehicle really rely more on AI to process input from sensors, cameras and GPS systems. Automkers will need to ensure personal data- such as facial identification or driving patterns- either protected from anonymous or strictly under DPDP regime,” Kumar Note. “
In addition, organizations availing AI for model training should ensure transparency. “Users should know how their data is being used to train the AI model. Users need to be open to businesses about data tracking, processing and conversion practices to create and maintain the trust,” they say.
Cost of compliance, or trust price?
From a commercial lens, the DPDP structure may appear to introduce additional compliance costs, but experts argue that it is an investment in long -term reliability and innovation.
Digital Trust in KPMG in India and Cyber, Atul Gupta, “DPDPA is changing the way to change the approach to digital data privacy approach.”
“Progressive organizations are taking advantage of the constructive trusts between customers, regulators, and investors – while unlocking continuous price growth and continuous innovation through digital technologies. It is becoming more relevant in the current global environment that is dealing with trade uncertainty due to global tariff regime.”
Gupta noted that India’s visit to frame the broader data privacy laws – the release of the draft rules in January 2025 since the release of the draft rules – has been aligned with global trends and is necessary for the economy ready for the future.
“The draft rules are progressive and straightforward. With an increase in AI-operated digital innovation, data privacy rules provide a tool to reduce security risks that otherwise can harm their brands and customers,” they say.
