Karnataka govt. launches new cyber security policy
Bengaluru, Aug 1: The Karnataka Government on Thursday launched a comprehensive cyber security policy 2024 to combat rising levels of cybercrimes and promote awareness, skill building, public-private partnerships and technology integration to protect the State's digital infrastructure.
The policy focuses on several key areas such as awareness and education, skill building, promotion of industry and startups, partnerships and collaborations for capacity building, officials said.
The total financial outflow for implementation of the policy for five years is about Rs 103.87 crore, which would be met from the budgetary allocation of the Department of Information Technology and Biotechnology and Science & Technology. Out of this, Rs 23.74 crore would go towards providing incentives and concessions, they said.
According to an official statement, key highlights of the incentives under the policy are:
Under the internship programme, a stipend of Rs 10,000- Rs15,000 per month will be provided, for a maximum of three months, to Karnataka-based undergraduate and postgraduate interns. The target is to facilitate 600 undergraduate interns and 120 post-graduate interns during the policy period.
For R&D projects in the domain of cybersecurity, driven by Karnataka-based start-ups and in collaboration with Karnataka-based academic institutes, matching grants of up to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total project R&D cost, or up to Rs 50 lakh will be given.
The cost up to a maximum of Rs one lakh towards engagement of Karnataka-based, CERT-In empanelled service providers by start-ups registered with Karnataka Start-up Cell for cyber security audit will be reimbursed.
"The Government of Karnataka, recognising the rising importance of cyber security, has meticulously crafted this policy to establish a resilient and secure cyberspace for our citizens and enterprises," Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Information Technology and Biotechnology, Priyank Kharge, said at the lunch event.
He emphasised that the policy, aligned with national and international efforts, highlights Karnataka's proactive stance in addressing cyber threats.
According to him, the policy has two parts. The first part focuses on building a strong cyber security ecosystem across all segments of the society, including public, academia, industry, start-ups and the government. The second part of the policy focuses on strengthening the cyber security posture of the State's IT assets.
Whilst the first part will be in public domain, the second will be internal to the state's IT teams and departments for their IT implementations.
This policy has been collaboratively drafted by the Department of Electronics, IT, BT and S&T, the department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (e-Governance), and the Home Department, in consultation with relevant stakeholders from both the government and private sectors.
The policy was also reviewed by the Indian Institute of Science, which is the anchor institute for the state's K-tech Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security (CySecK).
He also launched a skilling programme by CISCO as the Karnataka Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the network giant to train 40,000 individuals in cybersecurity skills and awareness.
"This partnership with CISCO is a testament to our commitment to fostering a secure digital environment. By training 40,000 individuals, with a special emphasis on empowering women, we are not only addressing the skills gap but also promoting inclusivity in the tech sector," Kharge said.
"Since, we are the fourth largest tech cluster in the world and the biggest tech cluster in the country, we have the highest number of cyber frauds also. That is the collateral damage of progress, So the highest number of online financial frauds in the country happen in Karnataka. Close to around 372 crore a year that is only reported (such frauds)...the first highest is of course Bengaluru and the second highest is Mandya," he said.
"The Government of Karnataka is extremely serious about it (addressing these issues) and I think probably we are also the first state to come up with a fact-check unit for misinformation, disinformation, fake news, deepfakes... so we tried this on for 90 days during the election period
And you will be quite surprised that a few of our partners who were enrolled detected close to around seven-and-a-half lakh threats. Out of which, serious threats were close to around 500....," he added.
According to him, the policy aims to build a dynamic, secure, and resilient cyberspace for all G2G, G2B, and G2C services of the Government of Karnataka.
"Beyond establishing a secure cyber ecosystem, the policy aims to create an assurance framework, strengthen the regulatory framework, quickly respond to security threats, protect critical information, reduce supply chain risks, and develop human resources," Kharge added.
The Minister said that the state government has also tied up with Meta to create awareness about cyber security.
"We have also tied up with Meta. We will be going to schools and colleges. We will be training one lakh teachers on how to be safe online and we will be teaching 10 lakh children on how to be safe online. We are also talking to WhatsApp and other social media organisations as well on how we can use their data, their analytics for a safer environment for our youngsters," Kharge said.
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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
