Netskope launches India management plane: Solving the DPDPA compliance puzzle

In the wake of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDPA), the cloud security landscape is undergoing a radical shift. For Indian organizations, especially Significant Data Fiduciaries and those in critical infrastructure, the question is no longer just about how to secure data, but where that security logic resides.

To address this, Netskope has officially introduced its management plane in India, located in Mumbai. This strategic deployment completes the orchestration layer for its existing NewEdge Network infrastructure (spanning eight data centers across the country), providing a truly Sovereign SASE platform.

The orchestration layer: Why a management plane matters

While Netskope’s data planes handle the heavy lifting of traffic optimization and security, the management plane is the "brain" of the operation. It hosts:

• Customer Policies: The rules governing how users access applications.

• User Configurations: Identity and access parameters.

• Sensitive Metadata & Logs: The audit trails and reporting data that are often subject to strict residency laws.

By keeping this orchestration layer within India, Netskope ensures that all underlying security operations and metadata stay within national borders, meeting the strict residency requirements of the DPDPA, RBI, and SEBI’s Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework (CSCRF).

For CISOs in sectors like BFSI and manufacturing, this move eliminates the need to rearchitect security frameworks to comply with evolving laws.

“The availability of a management plane in India is crucial for us, as it gives us flexibility to define exactly how and where our data is handled,” said Nageshwaran C, CISO at TVS Motors. “Having Netskope handle the compliance heavy-lifting gives us peace of mind regarding the DPDPA... while other organisations are stuck adjusting or even rearchitecting their frameworks.”

Value for the channel ecosystem

This deployment isn't just a win for end-users; it empowers the local channel ecosystem. Partners, MSPs, and MSSPs can now offer highly granular policies that govern data location and transfers, providing a competitive edge to organizations that require full control over their digital footprint amidst geopolitical turmoil and rising cybersecurity risks.

Ajay Gupta, Vice President and Country Manager SAARC at Netskope, emphasized the necessity of this shift:

“In this context, the addition of a management plane in India was essential for us to meet the increased data residency and sovereignty requirements sought by the fast-growing volume of Indian organisations... amidst increased geopolitical turmoil and cybersecurity risk.”

Conclusion

As India tightens its data protection rules, the availability of localized management is no longer a "nice-to-have", it is a strategic imperative. Netskope One is now uniquely positioned as a modern platform fit for the AI era that respects the sovereign boundaries of Indian data, allowing enterprises to modernise with confidence.

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