On Tuesday, the Budget 2024-2025 was unveiled, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman making substantial announcements. The government has pledged ₹1,550 crore for cybersecurity and AI projects as part of the central budget. This fund aims to bolster cybersecurity systems, protect user data, and advance AI research in India.
The allocated budget will soon be distributed among various ministries, departments, and agencies. Here, we provide detailed insights into the budget distribution for each department.
Cybersecurity projects have seen a 90 percent budget increase, totaling ₹759 crore.
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), India's nodal agency to guard against cybersecurity incidents, receives ₹238 crore.
To safeguard women and children against cybercrime, ₹52.8 crore is allocated.
The Data Protection Board of India is allocated a ₹2 crore budget under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023.
Initiated in March 2024, the IndiaAI Mission plans to establish a robust AI ecosystem, with ₹551 crore allocated toward its development. The Central Cabinet announced a budget of ₹10,300 crore over the next five years for this mission.
In total, the budget for cybersecurity and AI innovation has increased by 84 percent compared to the previous year, now reaching ₹840 crore. Additionally, ₹255 crore is earmarked for AI and Machine Learning excellence, with a Center of Excellence located at IIT Kharagpur.
The past five years have witnessed a surge in cyber-attacks in India, with 7,000 complaints recorded daily from January to May via the Home Ministry's National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. About 85 percent of these complaints are linked to online cyber fraud.
Over the past five years, the cyber complaint count has significantly increased. By May 2024, 7.4 lakh complaints have been registered on the portal related to cybercrime. The numbers were approximately 26,000 in 2019, 2.5 lakh in 2020, 4.5 lakh in 2021, 9.5 lakh in 2022, and 15.5 lakh in 2023.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), functioning under the central Home Ministry, provides the ecosystem for law enforcement agencies to tackle cybercrime. Sources from the Home Ministry informed India Today that although the exact budget allocation for I4C is undisclosed, it will now function as an Attached Office, granting increased authority.
Cyber-attacks have resulted in substantial financial losses. According to a report by ANI, the I4C agency revealed that from January to April this year, 4,599 complaints were related to digital fraud, involving swindles worth ₹1,203 crore. Cybercriminals employ various methods to dupe individuals, including fake trading apps, loan apps, gaming apps, dating apps, and more.
The United States government leads in cybersecurity spending, allocating ₹1.079 trillion to shield citizens from cyber threats this year. The UK has dedicated approximately ₹8,667 crore and ₹515 crore for the same cause.
