Section 36 — Power to call for information

What this section requires

The Central Government can require the Board, or any Data Fiduciary or intermediary, to furnish information it calls for, for the purposes of the Act.

Who it applies to

Any Data Fiduciary or intermediary the Central Government directs to furnish information — a standing information-demand power that applies whenever invoked, not only during a Board inquiry.

Checklist

• Treat a Section 36 information request from the Central Government as mandatory, not a courtesy — the section says the addressee "shall furnish" what is called for.
• Keep records organised well enough to respond to a government information demand without a scramble — the Act doesn't give this its own separate notice period.

Penalty exposure

No Schedule item names Section 36 directly. Failing to furnish information properly called for falls under the residual item 7 — up to ₹50 crore.

Implementation timeline

Not yet in force. Commences 13 May 2027, eighteen months after the DPDP Rules, 2025 were published (13 November 2025) — per the commencement notification G.S.R. 843(E).