Implementing Consent Management Systems Under the DPDP Act, 2023: A Practical Guide

India’s digital landscape underwent a significant transformation with the enactment of the Digital Personal Data Protection of 2023 (“DPDP Act”). This legislation establishes a comprehensive framework for protecting personal data while balancing the needs of organizations to process such data for legitimate purposes. In June, 2025 the National e-Governance Division (“NeGD”) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (“MeitY”) has published a detailed Business Requirements Document (“BRD”) that outlines the specifications for a Consent Management System (“CMS”) designed to comply with the DPDP Act.

This document outlines not only the regulatory vision but also the operational blueprint for building compliant, user-centric CMS. Drawing directly from BRD, this article offers a practical roadmap for organizations seeking to implement consent management in line with the latest national requirements.

The DPDP Act establishes a consent-centric approach to data protection, requiring organizations (Data Fiduciaries) to obtain explicit, purpose-specific consent before processing personal data. The consent framework involves three key stakeholders :

Data Principal:The individual to whom personal data relates, who has the right to give, manage, and withdraw consent.
Data Fiduciary:Any entity that determines the purpose and means of processing personal data.
Data Processor:An entity that processes personal data on behalf of a Data Fiduciary.

Table of Contents

1. The Consent Management Lifecycle: Operational Framework

As per the BRD, a robust CMS follows a comprehensive lifecycle approach encompassing five key processes:

1.1.Consent Collection

The foundation of lawful data processing under the DPDP Act is obtaining valid, informed consent. Consent collection represents the initial touchpoint between Data Principals and Data Fiduciaries, requiring clear communication, transparent disclosures, and user-friendly interfaces that enable meaningful choice while documenting the consent process. Effective consent collection requires specific operational controls including:

Implementing user-friendly interfaces with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliant designs for accessibility.
Ensuring purpose-specific consent mechanisms that prevent bundled consent by separating optional purposes from mandatory ones.
Providing granular consent options allowing users to provide or withhold consent for each purpose separately.
Requiring explicit affirmative action (e.g., clicking “I Agree”) with no pre-checked consent boxes.
Supporting multiple languages, including those listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India.
Implementing comprehensive metadata logging capturing user ID, timestamp, purpose IDs, consent status, and language preference.

Best Practice: Design your consent collection flow to present clear, purpose-specific consent notices with easily understandable language that explicitly states what data is being collected, why it’s needed, and how it will be used.

Consent Validation

To validate whether the Data Principal has provided explicit and lawful consent for a specific purpose before the Data Fiduciary processes their personal data, the Data Fiduciary should:

Implement pre-processing validation checks before data is processed.
Validate metadata to ensure all required information is present.
Conduct purpose-specific validation to ensure data is processed only for consented purposes.
Return appropriate error messages when valid consent doesn’t exist.

Best Practice: Establish automated validation protocols that verify consent status before any data processing begins to prevent unauthorized processing.

1.3.Consent Updates

As processing needs evolve or regulations change, Data Fiduciaries must provide mechanisms for Data Principals to update their existing consent preferences. This ensures continued lawful processing while respecting individual choice and maintaining transparency about data practices. Operational requirements for consent updates include:

Providing notifications to users about proposed changes to their consent.
Validating updates for purpose alignment.
Updating consent artifacts with new preferences and timestamps.
Synchronizing updated consent data with all relevant systems in real-time.

Best Practice: Implement a user-friendly interface for consent updates that clearly displays current consent status alongside proposed changes. Ensure real-time synchronization of updated consent preferences across all connected systems to prevent processing based on outdated consent information.

1.4.Consent Renewal

The DPDP Act emphasizes that consent should not be indefinite but rather time-bound for specific purposes. Consent renewal processes are essential for maintaining lawful processing when existing consents approach expiration, ensuring continued user engagement and awareness of ongoing data processing. To manage consent renewals effectively:

Monitor consent expiration dates and send renewal notifications (e.g., 30 days before expiration).
Display current consent details including expiring consents, purposes, and dates.
Implement validation processes for renewal requests.
Support granular renewal allowing users to renew specific purposes independently.
Ensure renewed consent specifies its duration of validity.

Best Practice: Create automated renewal notification workflows that provide sufficient lead time for users to make informed decisions before consent expires.

1.5 Consent Withdrawal

A cornerstone of data protection under the DPDP Act is the right of Data Principals to withdraw previously granted consent. This functionality must be as easily accessible as the original consent mechanism, with Data Fiduciaries and Data Processors required to immediately cease processing upon withdrawal except where legal exemptions apply. Critical operational steps for consent withdrawal include:

Implementing real-time processing to immediately stop all processing activities related to the withdrawn purpose.
Providing confirmation to users with information on implications (e.g., loss of specific features).
Logging withdrawal metadata including user ID, purpose ID, timestamp, and status updates.
Enabling purpose-specific withdrawal so users can withdraw consent for specific purposes without affecting others.
Issuing notifications to both data fiduciaries and data principals about the withdrawal action.

Best Practice: Ensure withdrawal mechanisms are as simple as the original consent process, with immediate halting of processing and comprehensive notifications to all stakeholders.

2. Supplementary Consent Management Functions

2.1.Cookie Consent Management

With the proliferation of web tracking technologies, cookie consent management has become a critical component of overall consent management strategies. The DPDP Act’s requirements for purpose limitation and explicit consent extend to cookies and similar tracking technologies, requiring Data Fiduciaries to implement specialized controls. Cookie consent requires specific implementation considerations:

Providing granular consent options for different cookie categories (essential, performance, analytics, marketing).
Enabling real-time updates through dedicated cookie preference interfaces.
Displaying clear cookie policies outlining usage, purposes, and data sharing practices
Supporting multiple languages for cookie notices.
Notifying users of changes to cookie policies and requesting renewed consent.

Best Practice: Design cookie banners that provide the same level of granular control as your primary consent mechanisms, allowing users to easily customize their preferences.

2.2.User Dashboard

Central to empowering Data Principals is the provision of intuitive interfaces where they can view and manage their consent preferences. A well-designed user dashboard serves as the primary interaction point for individuals to exercise their data rights, providing transparency and control over how their personal information is processed. A comprehensive user dashboard should allow data principals to:

View their consent history with filtering by purpose, date, or status.
Export their consent history in secure formats (PDF, CSV).
Modify or revoke consent for specific purposes in real-time.
Receive acknowledgment of consent actions.

Best Practice: Implement dashboards that provide complete transparency about all active consents with intuitive interfaces for making modifications.

2.3.Notification Systems

Timely and effective communication is essential for consent management compliance. Notification systems ensure that all stakeholders Data Principals, Data Fiduciaries, and Data Processors remain informed about consent-related activities, changes, and requirements, facilitating prompt action and maintaining transparency throughout the consent lifecycle. Effective notification systems require:

Multi-channel support for delivering notifications (email, SMS, in-app).
Event-based triggers that automate alerts for specific consent-related events.
Comprehensive audit logging of all alerts.
Escalation workflows for unacknowledged or unprocessed alerts.

Best Practice: Implement a preference center where users can select their preferred notification channels and frequency.

2.4.Grievance Redressal Mechanism

The DPDP Act requires organizations to establish accessible mechanisms for Data Principals to raise complaints about data processing issues. A robust grievance redressal system not only ensures regulatory compliance but also builds trust by demonstrating an organization’s commitment to addressing concerns and resolving disputes efficiently. Data Fiduciaries must implement grievance mechanisms that enable:

Complaint logging for data misuse, consent violations, or other data handling grievances.
Tracking of resolution progress and communication with complainants.
Escalation procedures for unresolved issues.

Best Practice: Ensure grievance mechanisms meet the requirements of the DPDP Act with appropriate response timeframes and resolution processes.

2.5.Administration and Audit

Behind every effective consent management system lies robust administrative capabilities and comprehensive audit mechanisms. These backend functions ensure system integrity, maintain regulatory compliance, and provide the necessary evidence for demonstrating accountability to both internal stakeholders and external regulators . Backend administrative functions should include:

Role-based access control with permission validation.
Data retention policy configuration aligned with DPDP Act requirements.
Comprehensive logging of all consent-related activities.
Immutable audit trails for compliance verification and dispute resolution.

Best Practice: Implement immutable audit logging that captures detailed metadata for every consent action, ensuring tamper-proof records for regulatory compliance.

3. Recommended Best Practices

Based on the BRD, Data Fiduciaries should consider implementation of following best practices:

User-Centric Design: Develop intuitive interfaces that make consent management easy for data principals while providing complete transparency.
Purpose Limitation: Clearly define and communicate specific purposes for data collection, avoiding overly broad or vague descriptions.
Real-Time Synchronization: Implement robust API-based integration to ensure all systems reflect the current consent status.
Comprehensive Metadata: Capture detailed metadata for all consent actions to support compliance verification.
Automated Notifications: Deploy multi-channel notification systems with confirmation tracking.
Immutable Audit Trails: Implement tamper-proof logging with restricted access controls.

4. Conclusion

Implementing a compliant CMS under the DPDP Act requires careful attention to the entire consent lifecycle. Organizations must balance regulatory requirements with user experience considerations while maintaining comprehensive records for compliance purposes. By focusing on the practical operational steps outlined in this article, organizations can develop CMS that not only meet legal requirements but also build trust with data principals through transparency and control.

For organizations beginning their compliance journey, prioritizing the core consent lifecycle components—collection, validation, updates, renewal, and withdrawal—provides a solid foundation. As these processes mature, additional features like user dashboards, grievance mechanisms, and comprehensive audit trails can be enhanced to create a robust consent management ecosystem that supports ongoing compliance with the DPDP Act.