India's surveillance debate is trapped in the last decade. Every time concerns about privacy emerge, public attention gravitates towards CCTV cameras, facial recognition systems and monitoring in public spaces. Yet, the most pervasive forms of surveillance today are not mounted on street corners.

They sit quietly in our pockets, on our desks, and increasingly within the digital infrastructure that powers modern life. The surveillance challenge confronting India is no longer confined to what a camera can capture; it is embedded in smartphones, intrusive applications, microphones, digital platforms, data brokers, and increasingly sophisticated methods of collecting, analysing and monetising personal information.

If India is serious about protecting the constitutional right to privacy, it must recognise that surveillance has evolved far beyond the lens of a CCTV camera.

India's digital transformation has been one of the defining economic stories of the past decade. Hundreds of millions of citizens now rely on smartphones for banking, healthcare, education, commerce and access to government services.

The growth of digital public infrastructure has created enormous opportunities for inclusion and economic efficiency. Yet, the expansion of digital services has not always been accompanied by equally robust protections for privacy and data security.

Many applications routinely seek access to contacts, cameras, microphones, location services and device storage, often beyond what appears necessary for their stated purpose.

In theory, users provide consent. In practice, few understand the scale of information being........

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