On February 10, Union Home Minister Amit Shah informed a parliamentary committee that a total of 805 mobile applications and 3,266 website links had been blocked for “national security” reasons.
The Minister stated that 1.43 lakh First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed on the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) portal, with over 19 crore people having accessed the website (cybercrime.gov.in).
Chaired a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the MHA on cybersecurity and cybercrime in New Delhi.
Modi govt. is building a secure cyberspace through convergence, coordination, communication, and capacity building against cybercrimes. Instructed to use AI to… pic.twitter.com/dHpj6tXGbo
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) February 11, 2025
Amit Shah mentioned that more than 6 lakh suspicious data points have been shared through a unified system connecting 14C, police, banks, and other law enforcement agencies. Additionally, over 19 lakh mule bank accounts have been identified, helping prevent suspicious transactions totalling Rs 2,038 crore. A total of 399 banks and financial intermediaries are connected to the platform.
Amit Shah was presiding over a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs, focused on the topic of ‘Cyber Security and Cyber Crime’.
During the meeting, Amit Shah highlighted that India has experienced a ‘digital revolution’ over the past decade. He noted the rapid expansion of digital infrastructure in the country, which has naturally led to a rise in cyberattacks. He explained that when viewing cyberspace from a broader perspective, it comprises a complex network of ‘software,’ ‘services,’ and ‘users.’ He emphasised that addressing cyber fraud through these three elements is essential for tackling the challenges of cyberspace. He further remarked that cybercrime knows no geographical boundaries, describing it as a ‘borderless’ and ‘formless’ crime with no fixed limits or shape.
Amit Shah stated that 95 per cent of villages in India are now digitally connected, with 1 lakh gram panchayats offering Wi-Fi hotspots. Over the past decade, the number of Internet users in the country has grown by 4.5 times. He also highlighted that in 2024, a total of 246 trillion transactions, valued at Rs 17.221 lakh crore, were conducted through UPI. Additionally, he noted that 48 per cent of global digital transactions occurred in India in the same year.
He also noted that India has emerged as the third-largest country in terms of its start-up ecosystem. In 2023, the digital economy contributed approximately Rs 32 lakh crore, or 12 per cent, to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while also generating nearly 15 million jobs. The digital economy now accounts for 20 per cent of India’s total economy. Furthermore, he emphasised that the Ministry of Home Affairs aims to achieve zero cybercrime cases and their corresponding FIRs.
The Home Ministry outlined four key strategies to combat cybercrime: convergence, coordination, communication, and capacity. It noted that inter-ministerial and inter-departmental coordination within the MHA has been enhanced, facilitating seamless communication and the efficient exchange of information.
The Minister further highlighted the positive impact of the strong information-sharing tradition between the MHA, the Ministry of Electronics and IT, CERT-IN, and departments such as Telecom and Banking, which has been instrumental in addressing numerous cybercrime cases. Amit Shah stressed the need to raise public awareness about preventing cybercrime and urged all committee members to actively promote the I4C helpline number, ‘1930’.
