Section 20 - Salary, allowances and conditions of service of Chairperson and Members

1.1 Detailed structured summary

Section 20 regulates two aspects of service on the Data Protection Board of India:

1. the remuneration and other service conditions applicable to the Chairperson and other Members; and

2. the duration of their appointment and eligibility for reappointment.

The provision applies equally to the Chairperson and all other Members, although the Rules prescribe different salary and travel entitlements for the two offices.

Applicable Rule: In the final DPDP Rules, 2025, the relevant provision isRule 18, not Rule 17. Rule 17 governs appointment through the Search-cum-Selection Committees. Rule 18 provides that the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chairperson and Members are those specified in theFifth Schedule. Rule 18 and the Fifth Schedule came into force on 13 November 2025.

2. Remuneration and service conditions are prescribed by Rules

Section 20 does not itself state the monetary salary or detailed service benefits of the Chairperson and Members. It authorises those matters to be prescribed through the DPDP Rules.

Rule 18 directs that the applicable salary, allowances and other terms and conditions are those contained in the Fifth Schedule.

The statutory and regulatory structure is therefore:

SECTION 20

Authorises the prescription of salary, allowances and service conditions

RULE 18

Refers these matters to the Fifth Schedule

FIFTH SCHEDULE

Specifies the applicable remuneration, benefits and service conditions

The Chairperson and Members are subject to the prescribed framework. Their remuneration and service conditions are not left to individual negotiation with the Board.

3. Salary of the Chairperson

The Chairperson is entitled to a consolidated salary of ₹4,50,000 per month.

The salary is prescribed without the facility of:

• an official house; or

• an official car.

The expression “consolidated salary” indicates a fixed monthly remuneration under the Fifth Schedule. The absence of house and car facilities does not remove the separate entitlements expressly provided elsewhere in the Schedule, such as travel allowances, medical assistance, leave and leave travel concession.

4. Salary of other Members

Each Member other than the Chairperson is entitled to a consolidated salary of ₹4,00,000 per month.

Like the Chairperson, the other Members are not entitled to the facility of:

• an official house; or

• an official car.

The ₹50,000 monthly difference reflects the Chairperson’s distinct institutional and administrative responsibilities under the Act.

5. Protection against disadvantageous variation

Section 20(1) provides that the salary, allowances and other service conditions of the Chairperson and Members cannot be varied to their disadvantage after appointment.

This protection is important because the Central Government prescribes the service conditions. Without it, those conditions could theoretically be altered after appointment in a manner that reduces the office-holder’s remuneration or materially worsens the conditions under which the statutory role is performed.

The protection applies to:

• salary;

• allowances;

• other terms and conditions of service.

It is not limited to basic monthly remuneration.

A change is prohibited where it operates to the office-holder’s disadvantage after appointment. Section 20 does not prevent:

• a beneficial increase;

• improvement of an allowance;

• introduction of a more favourable benefit;

• a neutral administrative change that does not disadvantage the Member.

The protection attaches after the individual’s appointment. It does not permanently freeze the framework for all future appointees. The Rules may be amended prospectively for persons appointed later, provided the existing Chairperson or Member is not disadvantaged during her appointment.

This protection supports stability of service conditions, but it does not prevent lawful action under other provisions concerning:

• disqualification;

• cessation of office;

• disciplinary action;

• resignation;

• completion of tenure.

6. Provident Fund

The Chairperson and every other Member may contribute to the Provident Fund of the Board.

The manner and conditions of contribution are to apply, with necessary modifications, in the same way as the provident-fund arrangements applicable to the Board’s officers and employees.

The provision creates eligibility to participate in the Board’s Provident Fund. It does not prescribe a separate contribution rate for the Chairperson or Members in the Fifth Schedule.

7. No pension or gratuity for service on the Board

The Chairperson and other Members are not entitled to pension or gratuity for the service rendered by them on the Board.

This exclusion concerns service in their capacity as Chairperson or Member of the Data Protection Board.

It does not state that a person who previously served in Government or another organisation loses pension or gratuity rights already earned under that earlier service. Those prior entitlements continue to be governed by the legal framework applicable to the earlier employment.

8. Travelling allowance

The Fifth Schedule prescribes travel entitlements for:

• transfer to join the Board;

• return to the Member’s home town with family after completion of the term;

• official tours within India;

• authorised tours outside India.

For travel within India, the Chairperson and Members are entitled to journey allowance, daily allowance and reimbursement of expenses for transportation of personal effects at the rates applicable to Central Government officers at the following levels:

• Chairperson: Level 17 of the pay matrix;

• other Members: Level 15 of the pay matrix.

Foreign official travel may be undertaken only in accordance with the Central Government’s guidelines or instructions. The corresponding overseas travel allowances are also linked to Level 17 for the Chairperson and Level 15 for other Members.

These pay-matrix references determine travel-related entitlements. They do not replace the consolidated monthly salaries separately prescribed by the Fifth Schedule.

9. Medical assistance

The Chairperson and other Members are entitled to medical assistance under any group health insurance scheme maintained by the Board for:

• its officers and employees; and

• their eligible dependants.

A Chairperson or Member who retired from:

• Government service;

• a public-sector entity; or

• a body corporate established under a Central, Provincial or State Act, may opt to continue under the medical-assistance rules applicable to that earlier service instead of using the Board’s group health insurance arrangement.

The Fifth Schedule therefore permits a choice where an eligible retired appointee already possesses medical coverage under a separate public-service framework.

10. Leave

The authority competent to sanction leave differs according to the office concerned:

• leave of the Chairperson is sanctioned by the Central Government;

• leave of another Member is sanctioned by the Chairperson.

The Chairperson and Members may avail themselves of the kinds of leave identified by reference to the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.

They are also entitled to casual leave to the extent available to Central Government servants under applicable instructions.

Earned leave may be encashed subject to the relevant conditions in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules. Except for the separately referenced Rule 38-A situation, the Fifth Schedule limits encashment to fifty per cent of the earned leave standing to the office-holder’s credit.

11. Leave travel concession

The Chairperson and other Members are eligible for leave travel concession in accordance with the specified provisions of the Central Civil Services (Leave Travel Concession) Rules, 1988.

The level of entitlement corresponds to:

• Level 17 of the pay matrix for the Chairperson;

• Level 15 for other Members.

During each two-year period from assumption of office, the Chairperson or Member may avail herself of either:

• leave travel concession to her home town; or

• leave travel concession to any place in India.

The reference to a two-year LTC period corresponds with the ordinary statutory term of office under Section 20(2).

12. Conflict of interest

The Fifth Schedule requires the Chairperson and every other Member to ensure the absence of conflict of interest in the performance of official functions.

They must not possess financial or other interests likely to prejudicially affect the performance of their functions.

This requirement is broader than the formal disqualification rules in Section 21. It operates as an ongoing service condition during the Member’s tenure.

The relevant concern is not the mere existence of every past professional connection. The concern is whether a financial or other interest is likely to prejudice the performance of the person’s statutory functions.

A potential conflict may therefore require:

• disclosure;

• recusal;

• another treatment permitted under the applicable framework.

The exact response depends on the nature of the interest and the matter before the Board.

13. Application of disciplinary provisions

Parts IV to IX of the Central Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1965 apply, with necessary modifications, to the Chairperson and other Members in the same manner as they apply to Central Civil Services Group A officers.

This imports the relevant disciplinary and related service framework specified in those Parts into the Members’ service conditions.

The expression mutatis mutandis means that the provisions apply with the adjustments required by the different institutional context. The Chairperson and Members are statutory office-holders rather than ordinary Group A civil servants, so references and procedures may require corresponding adaptation.

14. No sitting fee or sumptuary allowance

The Chairperson and other Members are not entitled to:

• any sitting fee for attending Board meetings; or

• any sumptuary allowance.

Their consolidated salary compensates them for performing the functions of office, including participation in Board meetings.

They cannot receive an additional meeting-based fee merely because they attend or participate in a Board meeting.

15. Unaddressed service-condition matters

Where a question concerning the service conditions of the Chairperson or another Member is not expressly addressed in the Rules, the matter must be referred to the Central Government.

The Central Government’s decision on that matter is final under the Fifth Schedule.

This residual power concerns gaps in the prescribed terms and conditions of service. It does not permit the Central Government to disregard the express protection in Section 20(1) against disadvantageous variation after appointment.

15.1 Term of office

16. Two-year term

Section 20(2) provides that the Chairperson and every other Member hold office for a term of two years.

The term is attached to the individual appointment. It is not a single collective term for the Board as an institution.

Therefore:

• the Board continues to exist after one Member’s term ends;

• different Members may have different appointment and expiry dates;

• appointment of a replacement does not create a new Board;

• completion of the Chairperson’s term does not dissolve the Board.

The short statutory tenure must be distinguished from perpetual succession under Section 18. The Board exists continuously, while each office-holder serves for a limited term.

Government recruitment material issued in May 2026 describes the tenure as not exceeding two years or until the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier. The two-year term comes directly from Section 20(2), while the age-related condition should be attributed to the applicable appointment and service framework rather than read into the statutory words of Section 20 itself.

17. Eligibility for reappointment

The Chairperson and other Members are eligible for reappointment after completing their term.

Reappointment is not automatic.

The words “eligible for re-appointment” mean that the person may be considered again. They do not create:

• a right to another term;

• an expectation of renewal;

• automatic continuation in office;

• a power in the Board to renew its own Members.

A reappointment must be made by the Central Government through the applicable appointment process and remains subject to:

• the qualifications in Section 19;

• the selection mechanism prescribed under Rule 17;

• the disqualifications in Section 21;

• applicable age and service conditions.

18. No express statutory limit on number of reappointments

Section 20(2) does not expressly state that a Chairperson or Member may be reappointed only once.

It simply provides eligibility for reappointment.

The section should therefore not be described as imposing:

• a two-term limit;

• a four-year maximum;

• a single-renewal rule.

Any practical limitation may arise from age, eligibility, appointment conditions or another applicable provision. It does not appear as an express numerical restriction in Section 20(2).

19. Fresh term upon reappointment

A valid reappointment would ordinarily result in a further term governed by Section 20 and the appointment instrument.

The person should not be treated as continuing indefinitely merely because a decision on reappointment is pending. Continuation beyond the statutory term requires legal authority.

20. Relationship with resignation, vacancy and disqualification

A two-year appointment may end earlier where:

• the Chairperson or Member resigns under Section 22;

• the person becomes disqualified under Section 21;

• another lawful ground for cessation applies;

• the age or appointment conditions terminate the tenure earlier.

Section 20 establishes the ordinary maximum term of an appointment. It does not guarantee that every appointee will necessarily remain in office for the complete two years irrespective of later events.

Where a vacancy arises before the expiry of the term, the filling of that vacancy is governed by Section 22 and the prescribed appointment process.

21. Importance of the non-disadvantage protection

The combination of a centrally prescribed service framework and a bar against disadvantageous variation has an institutional purpose.

Members may be required to adjudicate matters involving:

• Government instrumentalities;

• major Data Fiduciaries;

• Significant Data Fiduciaries;

• substantial monetary penalties;

• sensitive legal and technical questions.

Fixing service conditions in advance and protecting them against disadvantageous variation reduces the possibility that an office-holder’s remuneration or benefits could be worsened after appointment.

The protection does not establish complete institutional independence by itself. It is one safeguard within the wider framework governing the Board.

22. What Section 20 does not prescribe

Section 20 itself does not prescribe:

• the monetary salary figures;

• provident-fund contribution rates;

• travel rates;

• medical-insurance terms;

• categories of leave;

• compulsory pension;

• gratuity;

• sitting fees;

• an official house or car;

• a statutory two-term limit;

• automatic reappointment;

• continuation after expiry pending replacement.

The monetary and service details are prescribed by Rule 18 and the Fifth Schedule. Other questions concerning appointment, disqualification, resignation and vacancies are governed by Sections 19, 21 and 22.

Conclusion

Section 20 establishes a fixed and protected service framework for the Chairperson and other Members of the Data Protection Board.

The Chairperson receives a consolidated salary of ₹4,50,000 per month, while every other Member receives₹4,00,000 per month. Neither receives official house or car facilities. The Fifth Schedule separately provides for provident-fund participation, travel allowances, medical assistance, leave and leave travel concession, while excluding pension, gratuity, sitting fees and sumptuary allowance for service on the Board.

The salary, allowances and other service conditions cannot be varied to the disadvantage of an office-holder after appointment. This protection extends beyond salary alone and preserves the service framework applicable when the person accepts office.

Each appointment ordinarily lasts for two years. Reappointment is legally permitted but is not automatic and must occur through the applicable appointment process. Section 20 does not prescribe a numerical limit on reappointment, although age, eligibility, disqualification and other appointment conditions may limit further service.

Key point

In substance, Section 20 gives the Chairperson and Members a two-year, renewable statutory tenure supported by prescribed and protected service conditions, while Rule 18 and the Fifth Schedule provide the detailed remuneration, benefits, conflict-of-interest and service framework applicable during that tenure.