Budget 2024 turbocharges cybersecurity, AI projects

In the Union Budget for 2024-25, the Narendra Modi government has allocated over Rs 1,550 crore to enhance the security of critical online systems, address cybercrimes, and advance research in artificial intelligence (AI). 

Despite this substantial allocation, the budget does not earmark any specific funds for the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), which operates under the Union Home Ministry as the central hub for managing cybercrime. According to Home Ministry sources, the I4C has been reclassified as an “attached office,” a change intended to expand its operations and increase its effectiveness. The interim budget proposed Rs 150.95 crore for the I4C, though it received only Rs 86 crore last fiscal year.

Funding for cybersecurity projects has seen a nearly 90 percent increase from the previous year, reaching Rs 759 crore. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), responsible for addressing cybersecurity incidents, has been allocated Rs 238 crore. Additionally, Rs 52.8 crore is dedicated to preventing cybercrimes against women and children, while the Data Protection Board of India, established under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, will receive Rs 2 crore for operational costs.

The IndiaAI Mission, launched in March 2024 to develop a robust AI ecosystem, has been granted over Rs 551 crore. Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet approved a Rs 10,300 crore funding plan for the next five years. The total funding for cybersecurity and AI has surged by over 84 percent from last year’s Rs 840 crore. The Centre of Excellence in AI at IIT Kharagpur has also been allocated Rs 255 crore for AI and machine learning research.

India has experienced a significant rise in cyberattacks over the past five years. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal of the Home Ministry recorded approximately 7,000 complaints daily between January and May 2024, with 85 percent related to online financial fraud. The number of complaints has grown steadily, reaching 7.4 lakh by May 2024, compared to 26,000 in 2019 and 15.5 lakh in 2023.

Cyberattacks have imposed a heavy financial toll. Between January and April this year, the I4C received 4,599 complaints involving Rs 1,203.06 crore in digital fraud. The national rate of cybercrime incidents was 129 per lakh people in 2023, with higher rates reported in Delhi (755), Haryana (381), and Telangana (261), according to the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.

Indian businesses are also highly vulnerable, experiencing the second-highest number of weekly attacks per organization in the Asia Pacific region in Q2 2024, according to a Check Point report. Common fraud methods include fake trading apps, loan apps, gaming apps, dating apps, and algorithm manipulation.

Globally, the United States leads in cybersecurity spending with a proposed Rs 1.079 trillion for civilian projects, while the United Kingdom plans to spend approximately Rs 8,667 crore and Rs 515 crore this year.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/business/budget/story/budget-2024-cybersecurity-artificial-intelligence-projects-allocation-jump-2571272-2024-07-24