Consent in the Age of Correlation: Big Data Analytics and the Limits of India’s Data Protection Framework

Author(s)	Mr. Vemuru Leela Krishna, Dr. Astitwa Bhargava
Country	India
Abstract	Big data analytics does not merely collect information; it manufactures it. Inferences drawn from aggregated datasets routinely reveal facts that no individual ever disclosed, and this inferential capacity sits uneasily with a data protection statute built around notice and consent. This paper examines whether the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 is equipped to govern big data processing in India. It begins with the constitutional baseline laid down in Puttaswamy, tests the consent-centric design of the 2023 Act against the realities of high-volume analytics, and then turns to two structural weaknesses: the statute’s indifference to inferred and anonymised data, and the well-documented failure of anonymisation as a privacy safeguard. Comparative material from the GDPR and the American sectoral model is used selectively, not as an ideal to be copied but as a measure of where Indian law stands. The paper closes with concrete legislative and regulatory suggestions, including recognition of inferred data, a re-identification offence with teeth, and risk-based obligations for large-scale profiling.
Keywords	Big Data, Consent, DPDP Act 2023, Puttaswamy, Anonymisation, Profiling, Privacy.
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 4, July-August 2026
Published On	2026-07-11

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