SRINAGAR: The Union Government has made its highest-ever allocation for cybersecurity in 2024–25, setting aside Rs 1,004 crore to strengthen digital infrastructure and response capabilities, even as India reported over 20 lakh cyber incidents last year, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said cyber threats had grown in scale and complexity, with the CERT (CERT-In) observing 20,41,360 cybersecurity incidents in 2024 alone — the highest in the last five years. This marked a sharp increase from 15.9 lakh cases in 2023 and 11.5 lakh incidents in 2020.
The minister noted that attacks often appeared to originate from multiple countries, though many times hackers disguised their true location and identity using false Internet Protocol (IP) addresses.
Government data further revealed that cybercrime prosecutions and convictions are also on the rise. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), India registered 65,893 cybercrime cases in 2022, up from 27,248 in 2018. Of these, 1,118 cases ended in conviction in 2022, more than double the number in 2018.
Prasada outlined a series of initiatives aimed at bolstering cyber defences, including the National Cyber Security Coordinator under the National Security Council Secretariat, the National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC) for threat monitoring, the Cyber Swachhta Kendra for malware detection and removal, and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Home Ministry. CERT-In, the national agency for cyber incident response, has also rolled out automated intelligence-sharing platforms and regular mock drills across critical sectors.
Budgetary support for these efforts has steadily grown, rising from Rs 293 crore in 2020–21 to Rs 580 crore in 2023–24, before crossing the Rs 1,000 crore mark this year. Officials said the record allocation underlines the government’s recognition of cybersecurity as a national security imperative, particularly as India accelerates its digitalisation drive.
“The increase in allocation reflects the urgent need to safeguard citizens, enterprises, and critical infrastructure against rapidly evolving cyber threats,” Prasada told the House.
