Section 1 — Short title and commencement

What this section requires

Section 1 names the Act — the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — and sets out how it comes into force: not all at once, but on dates the Central Government appoints by notification, with different dates for different provisions.

That mechanism is why the Act reads as one document but operates in phases: each other section only binds anyone once the government has separately notified it as commenced.

Who it applies to

Nobody directly — this section has no compliance obligation of its own. It applies to the Act itself, establishing how and when its other provisions take effect.

Checklist

• Not applicable — a naming and commencement clause carries no compliance checklist.

Penalty exposure

Not applicable — Section 1 defines no obligation, so no penalty in the Schedule to Section 33 attaches to it.

Implementation timeline

Sub-section (1), the short title, took effect on enactment (11 August 2023) and needed no separate notification. Sub-section (2), the commencement power itself, is in force since 13 November 2025 — it had to commence first, since every other phased date in this guide is fixed under it.