India’s data privacy conversation is entering a decisive phase. What began as a regulatory requirement is now becoming a defining business discipline. As 2026 approaches, organisations are no longer asking whether privacy matters, but whether they can turn it into a foundation for trust, innovation, and long-term digital growth.
By the end of 2025, the most visible shift shaping data stewardship has been the move from policy-led compliance to privacy by design. In an economy built on data and AI, trust is increasingly shaped by how transparently information is collected, governed, and protected across systems.
Akarsh Singh A., CEO and Co-founder of Tsaaro Consulting, sees this shift as a reframing of privacy itself.
“At Tsaaro, we see privacy as a trust signal, not a legal burden. By operationalising privacy through technology, governance, and clear user communication, we enable brands to build credibility, reduce risk, and deepen consumer engagement in a data-driven economy.”
This mindset is now being reinforced by regulation and infrastructure. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act has sharpened focus on accountability, consent, and responsible data stewardship, pushing organisations to treat privacy as a core operational function rather than a legal overlay. Matthew Oostveen, VP & CTO, Asia Pacific & Japan at Pure Storage, believes this shift must be built into the enterprise itself.
“Data Privacy Day is a reminder that privacy is fundamentally about trust and how responsibly organizations protect and control the data they are entrusted with.
As data volumes grow and regulations evolve, privacy can no longer be addressed through policy alone. It must be built into the way data is stored, accessed, and governed across the enterprise. In India, the introduction of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act), marks a significant step forward, placing sharper focus on accountability, consent, and responsible data stewardship for organizations operating in an increasingly digital economy.
Strong data privacy begins with secure foundations. Built-in encryption and robust key management play a critical role in protecting sensitive information at rest, supporting privacy objectives, and enabling organizations to manage regulated and mission-critical data with confidence. As regulatory frameworks such as the DPDP Act, GDPR, and DORA continue to raise expectations around accountability and resilience, maintaining clear ownership and control of data has become essential.
This Data Privacy Day, organizations should recognize that lasting trust is built not only through how data is used, but through how securely it is protected and how firmly they remain in control of it.”
As digital systems grow more complex and AI becomes central to business decisions, privacy is also being reshaped as an architectural challenge. Neehar Pathare, MD, CEO & CIO at 63SATS, sees advantage coming from embedding privacy into infrastructure and intelligence layers.
“At 63SATS, we transform privacy from a checklist into a competitive edge. By embedding sovereign data governance and AI-driven transparency into our security architecture.
Our focus includes securing the entire AI lifecycle: protecting data, models, and agents, to ensure that “trustworthy AI” isn’t just a buzzword but a technical reality.”
At the same time, consumer expectations are evolving. Users want to understand how their data is used and to feel in control of it. Aravind Raghunathan, Head of AI at Murugappa Group, believes that transparency is what turns privacy into engagement.
“In 2026, privacy is not something we add after the fact, but rather something we design for from the beginning. We create systems that give users actual control over their data and make it obvious how it is used. Trust develops organically when privacy is transparent and understandable. Genuine engagement results from people’s confidence that their data is handled carefully.”
For brands and creative leaders, this shift is also redefining what credibility looks like in a data-rich world. Mehul Gupta, CEO and Co-founder, SoCheers, sees privacy not as a technical constraint but as a brand responsibility that shapes how consumers perceive intent and integrity.
“2026 is all about credibility, and using data, which is abundant now, needs restraint. Privacy has evolved into a strategic differentiator and brands can only earn that trust by collecting smarter and choosing limits and eventually pushing back on unnecessary extraction of data. Ethical use is no longer just a regulatory baseline but the golden standard for credibility. Trust is built when data is being used with clear intent and accountability.”
Taken together, these views point to a single transformation underway in India’s data economy. Progress will no longer be judged only by regulatory compliance but by how deeply privacy is embedded into products, AI systems, and everyday customer experiences.
As India’s digital economy expands, data privacy’s next chapter will belong to organisations that treat trust as an asset, not an obligation. In 2026, competitive advantage will not come from collecting more data but from using it more carefully, protecting it more rigorously, and communicating its purpose more clearly.
