A named Data Protection Officer, on retainer, without the full-time salary.
How a Vashi logistics firm went from nobody owning a customer’s data request, to a retained officer mapping their data in three weeks and answering the next request in two days. Story below.
DPO-as-a-Service at a glance
Why every Indian business now needs someone who owns this.
- What it is
- A qualified Data Protection Officer on a monthly retainer, briefed on your data and ready when a complaint or the Board comes calling.
- Why teams pick it
- The DPDP Act expects a named accountable person. A full-time hire costs upward of Rs 25 lakh a year for work that rarely fills a full role at mid-size scale.
- What the officer owns
- Your data map, principal-rights requests, breach response and timelines, and a quarterly audit file your board and any regulator can see.
- Who must appoint one
- Any firm the government classes as a Significant Data Fiduciary must appoint an officer based in India. Others should not wait to be told.
- India pricing
- Rs 35,000 a month for Essential (up to 50 staff), rising to Rs 1,10,000+ for Significant Fiduciary duties. Excludes GST, assumes an annual term.
- Sirius Star role
- We run a free readiness review, then hand you a named officer who builds your data map in month one and briefs your leadership every quarter.
The DPO-as-a-Service tiers Sirius Star runs
Priced per month on a yearly term. You pay for the size of your data estate, not by the hour.
Essential
Up to 50 staff.
- Data map and privacy policy
- Principal-rights request handling
- Quarterly compliance file
Growth
50 to 250 staff.
- Vendor and contract reviews
- Quarterly board briefing
- Faster principal-request turnaround
Significant Fiduciary
BFSI or pharma named under DPDP.
- Full statutory officer duties
- Breach response and Board liaison
- Dedicated named consultant
In-house DPO, a law firm, or a managed service
You have three real options. Each fits a different size of business.
| Option | Where it wins | Best fit |
|---|---|---|
| Full-time in-house DPO | Constant, dedicated attention once your data work is large enough to fill the seat. | Large enterprises with continuous data-governance workload. |
| Law firm on retainer | Sharp legal advice on a hard question, when you need it. | One-off legal opinions, not day-to-day data map or request handling. |
| DPO-as-a-Service (Sirius Star) | A named officer who runs the day-to-day duties for a fixed monthly fee, in Navi Mumbai. | Most Indian mid-size businesses who need the role run, not just advised on. |
How Secure Data Guard runs your DPO-as-a-Service
Free readiness review first. No retainer signed yet.
Readiness review
One week. We learn what data you hold and the three gaps worth fixing first.
Data map
Your named officer builds the map and drafts consent notices in month one.
Ongoing requests
The officer logs and answers every principal-rights request on the clock the law allows.
Quarterly file
A refreshed audit file and a plain-language brief for your leadership, every quarter.
The DPDP field guide for Indian teams
The four duties a Data Protection Officer actually owns, and the proof file a regulator accepts.
- Who must appoint an officer, and who should not wait
- The four duties: data map, requests, breach response, audit file
- The proof file a DPDP auditor accepts
DPO-as-a-Service India FAQ
Common questions Indian buyers ask us.
Is a DPO mandatory for every business under the DPDP Act?
No. The Act makes it a hard requirement only for a Significant Data Fiduciary, a class the government names by data volume and sensitivity. Smaller firms still need someone accountable, and most appoint one early to be safe.Can an outside officer really represent us to the regulator?
Yes. Your retained officer is your published point of contact and works to your board. They handle principal requests and front the Data Protection Board, with your sign-off on anything that carries weight.How fast can you start?
The readiness review takes a week. Once you sign, your officer begins the data map in the first month and your consent notices follow soon after.What proof do we get for a review?
A current data map, your consent and policy records, a log of every principal request, and a quarterly file you can hand to an auditor.Do you only advise, or do you run the role?
We run it. A named officer owns your map, your requests, and your audit file, and adjusts as your data practices change.Start with a free DPDP readiness review
We look at the data you hold today and show you whether you need a Data Protection Officer yet, and the three gaps worth closing first.
Pair this with your device and cloud stack
What Sirius Star clients typically bundle with this on one PO.
Read more before you decide
Related guides from the Sirius Star team.