Data (IT Act)
Under the IT Act, any representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions prepared or being prepared in a formalised manner — distinct from 'personal data' under the DPDP Act.
Full Definition
Section 2(o) of the IT Act defines 'data' very broadly as a representation of information, knowledge, facts, concepts, or instructions which are being prepared or have been prepared in a formalised manner, and is intended to be processed, is being processed, or has been processed in a computer system or computer network, and may be in any form (including computer printouts, magnetic or optical storage media, punched cards, punched tapes) or stored internally in the memory of the computer. This is a technical definition covering all stored information in computing systems — it is distinct from 'personal data' under the DPDP Act, which is the subset of data that identifies an individual.
In Indian Law
IT Act Section 2(o). The definition of 'data' under the IT Act informs offence provisions: Section 43 penalises data theft, deletion, alteration, and disruption. The DPDP Act 2023 introduces 'personal data' as a more specific category. Together, the two statutes create a two-tier framework: the IT Act protects all electronic data from tampering and theft; the DPDP Act specifically regulates the collection, processing, and storage of personal data about identifiable individuals.