Interactive Guide12 min read•December 2025

AI-Powered Compliance Checklist

Your 90-Day Roadmap to Audit-Ready Compliance

Your Progress0 of 46 items complete

Col. Saurabh Agrawal, SM (Retd)

CISSP, CISA | Founder and CEO, Cyber Soldiers Lab

Twenty-five years in Indian Army ICT and cyber roles, including OSD (IT and Cyber Security) to the Chief of the Army Staff. Founder and CEO of Cyber Soldiers Lab.

Introduction

Most Indian enterprises approaching compliance for the first time face the same paralysis: they know they need to be compliant, they know the frameworks exist, but they do not know where to start or in what order to do things.

This 90-day checklist removes that paralysis. It gives you a week-by-week action plan - built around AI-powered GRC automation - that takes you from zero to audit-ready across ISO 27001, DPDPA, SOC 2, and CSCRF simultaneously.

This is not a theoretical framework. Every item on this checklist is a real action that real compliance teams complete. The difference is that with an AI-powered GRC platform, actions that used to take weeks now take hours.

How to use this checklist:

  • • Work through it sequentially - later items build on earlier ones
  • • Assign an owner to every item before you start
  • • Use the checkboxes to track progress - your progress is saved automatically
  • • Come back to it - your progress persists between sessions

Want help completing this checklist faster?

Netra, the AI-powered Compliance & Audit OS, connects these actions to controls, evidence and audits in one place.

Phase 1 - Weeks 1–2: Foundation & Discovery

Goal: Understand exactly where you stand before building anything.

Governance Setup

Assign a named compliance owner (CISO, vCISO, or Compliance Manager) with board-level mandate
Schedule a board-level GRC briefing - present your regulatory exposure under DPDPA, CSCRF, and RBI MD
Define your compliance scope - which business units, systems, and data are in scope for each framework
Identify all applicable frameworks for your organisation (ISO 27001, DPDPA, SOC 2, CSCRF, RBI MD, HIPAA)

Asset & System Inventory

Complete an information asset register - every system, database, and data store that holds sensitive or personal data
Map personal data flows - where personal data enters, is processed, stored, and exits your organisation
Complete an AI system register - every AI tool in use, including embedded AI in third-party SaaS
Identify all third-party vendors with access to your systems or data

Gap Assessment

Run a gap assessment against ISO 27001:2022 Annex A controls
Run a gap assessment against DPDPA obligations (consent, purpose limitation, data minimisation, security)
Run a gap assessment against SOC 2 Trust Service Criteria (if applicable)
Document all gaps with priority rating: Critical / High / Medium / Low

Netra automates gap assessments across all frameworks simultaneously

What takes weeks manually takes hours with AI.

Phase 2 - Weeks 3–5: Policy & Control Framework

Goal: Build the policy and control foundation that all your frameworks require.

Core Policies (draft, review, and approve all)

Information Security Policy
Acceptable Use Policy
Data Classification Policy
Access Control Policy
Incident Response Policy
Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery Policy
Vendor / Third-Party Risk Policy
Data Retention and Disposal Policy
DPDPA Privacy Policy (external-facing, covering consent and individual rights)

Control Implementation

Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) across all critical systems
Configure role-based access control (RBAC) - principle of least privilege enforced
Enable audit logging on all critical systems (access logs, change logs, admin actions)
Configure automated backups with tested restore procedures
Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) on all endpoints
Deploy vulnerability scanning - schedule weekly automated scans

Phase 3 - Weeks 6–8: Evidence & Automation Setup

Goal: Build the evidence collection system so you are always audit-ready.

Evidence Collection

Connect your GRC platform to your cloud infrastructure (AWS/Azure/GCP) for automated evidence collection
Connect to your HR system for automated joiners/leavers/movers access reviews
Connect to your endpoint management tool for automated patch compliance evidence
Connect to your identity provider for automated access certification evidence
Set up automated policy acknowledgement - all employees must acknowledge key policies with a time-stamped record

Continuous Monitoring

Configure real-time alerts for critical control failures (failed logins, privilege escalation, policy violations)
Set up automated access reviews - scheduled monthly, results logged automatically
Configure vulnerability management workflow - scan → triage → assign → remediate → verify → evidence

See how Netra automates evidence collection and continuous monitoring

Always audit-ready with real-time compliance monitoring.

Phase 4 - Weeks 9–10: Training & Awareness

Goal: Ensure your people are your strongest compliance layer, not your weakest.

Training Requirements

Deploy role-specific security awareness training - all staff must complete before system access
Run a baseline phishing simulation - document results and remediate with targeted training
Train your compliance and IT teams on evidence collection procedures and audit workflows
Brief department heads on their compliance responsibilities and escalation paths
Conduct a specific DPDPA awareness session covering employee obligations for handling personal data

Phase 5 - Weeks 11–12: Audit Readiness & Review

Goal: Test your readiness before the real auditor arrives.

Final Validation

Conduct an internal audit across all in-scope control domains
Produce a sample evidence pack - test whether you can generate 12 months of evidence in under 2 hours
Complete a management review - review all open risks, policy exceptions, and audit findings
Perform a tabletop incident response exercise - test your IR plan against a realistic scenario
Engage your external auditor for a pre-audit readiness review
Close all Critical and High priority gaps from your Phase 1 gap assessment

Ready to complete this checklist 3x faster with AI automation?

See how Netra's Compliance & Audit OS automates evidence collection, control monitoring, and audit preparation across ISO 27001, DPDPA, SOC 2, and CSCRF simultaneously.

Related Resources

Whitepaper

The State of Compliance and Audit in India 2026

An overview of governance, risk and compliance trends shaping Indian organisations, with practical priorities for security leaders.

On-Demand Webinar

Future of Agentic AI in Governance

Join Col Saurabh Agrawal and industry experts as they discuss how autonomous AI agents are transforming compliance monitoring and risk assessment.

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