Students and Privacy Enthusiasts,
There’s a new role on the Privacy Horizon!
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act and Digital Personal Data Protection Rules 2025 have created one of India’s most exciting new privacy careers!
As per the Act, a “Consent Manager” is a regulated intermediary, registered with the Data Protection Board of India, that helps individuals give, manage, review, and withdraw consent across different companies through a transparent, interoperable consent platform. They must demonstrate adequate technical, operational, and financial capacity, provide interoperable consent platforms, and ensure grievance redressal. The requirements for this role is prescribed in Part A of Schedule 1 of the Rules.
They are legally accountable to the Data Principal, not the business, in a first-of-its-kind fiduciary role in India’s tech ecosystem.
What many don’t realise is that the Consent Manager, as mentioned in the law, exists in two forms:
1️⃣ A Registered Statutory Entity
Companies can now register with the Data Protection Board as official Consent Managers but must meet strict requirements such as: It must be an Indian incorporation, ₹2 crore net worth, independent certification, 7-year consent log retention followed by purpose limitation and other legal requirements, no conflicts of interest, and strong security, API, and governance systems.
2️⃣ An Internal Career Path in Organisations
Businesses will need Consent Manager Leads to integrate their systems with these registered entities. This creates a brand-new job role spanning privacy, product, UX, APIs, audit, and governance. For students, this opens a career path in privacy engineering, UX, and compliance.
Rule 4, which outlines the registration and obligations of a Consent Manager, is scheduled to come into force by November 2026, giving businesses time to prepare
What does a Consent Manager actually do?
Build intuitive consent & withdrawal flows
Maintain tamper-evident consent logs
Push revocation updates across systems
Ensure consent is specific, informed, and compliant
Handle audits, security, grievances & regulator inquiries
Govern identity, authentication & accessibility
Enforce DPDP rules across vendors and product teams
Design interoperable APIs
How to qualify for this role
You don’t need to be a lawyer. You need:
Strong understanding of the DPDP Act & Rules
Product/UX experience
API & engineering literacy
Security & audit familiarity
Privacy training (CIPP/E, CIPM, or similar)
Consent Managers and consent manager leads will shape how India manages data in the coming years.
For students and professionals looking to pivot, this is a career path that intersects with technology, law, and ethics. The Consent Manager lead role is not just compliance — it’s about building trust in India’s digital economy.
With the right skills, you could be at the forefront of privacy innovation!
If you're looking to break into privacy, We Can Guide You!