India’s fast-track digitalisation has led to an explosion of cyberattacks and financial fraud. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reported that the nation registered losses of Rs 22,845 crore in 2024 as compared to Rs 7,465 crore in 2023, with an increase rate of 206 per cent. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) alone had 19.18 lakh complaints in a year, which reflects the magnitude of the issue. Fraudulent activities vary from phishing attacks, bogus investment proposals and telecommunication-based frauds. SIM card misuses and spoofed international calls are used where cybercriminals tamper the Calling Line Identity (CLI) to present foreign scam calls as Indian local numbers.
Though cybercrime is under the jurisdiction of MHA and law and order, which is a state subject, yet the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has a significant responsibility to ensure that the nation’s telecommunication infrastructure is not used for fraudulent purposes. It is why DoT created the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), a safe, multi-stakeholder, real-time intelligence-sharing system meant to prevent cybercrime and financial fraud.
Why Digital Intelligence Platform?
DIP platform will respond to the intensifying abuse of telecom infrastructure by cyber thieves. Scammers have long been taking advantage of telecom loopholes, such as availing multiple SIM cards on the basis of forged papers, and it has been challenging to track their identities. The rise in the use of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with record collection of Rs 24.8 Lakh crore and other digital payment platforms which uses mobile-based system, get financial scams more frequent and tougher to identify in real time.
Seeing this problem, DoT intervened to create an integrated platform that combines banks, telecom service providers (TSPs), law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders. The main aim of DIP is to facilitate the real-time exchange of information so that fraudulent telecom activities are detected early and preventive actions are taken in time.
What India Gains from DIP
The creation of DIP is a milestone towards India’s cyber defense initiative. About 620 organisations have been brought on board for the unified platform until now, including the central security organisations, State/UT police, Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), large banks and Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). Such broad coverage ensures a comprehensive and collaborative effort against fraud.
Through DIP, nefarious activities such as fraudulent SIM activations, spoofed calls and financial telecom-related scams will be identified in real time. This enables stakeholders to respond promptly to block scamming numbers, postpone suspicious financial transactions or launch police investigations. DIP will improve the protection of citizens financial transactions and increase their trust in digital services.
Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI): Tool Integrated with DIP
One of the most important tools introduced along with DIP is the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), which was introduced by DoT’s Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) in May 2025. The FRI categorises mobile numbers by the risk of their involvement in fraud activities as Medium, High or Very High.
This risk categorisation is done by focusing on several data points, such as complaints filed on NCRP, reports on DoT’s Chakshu platform, fraud information from banks and financial institutions. Through risk-based alerts, FRI enables banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), and UPI platforms to take proactive steps, such as blocking transactions or flagging customers ahead of potential fraud.
The Mobile Number Revocation List (MNRL) contains a list of numbers disconnected for misuse. It also ensures that such identified fraud-associated numbers are continuously scanned and prevented from entering the system again.
Case of Real-Time Impact through FRI
An enforcement success was noticed in Bengaluru, where DIP (experimentation phase) has detected 71 telecom shops dealing in bulk sales of SIM cards to fraudsters. Most of these shops sold more than 25 SIM cards each, which were then traced to financial scams. As per DIP figures, DoT has lodged complaints with the Central Crime Branch, thus initiating criminal investigations into these shops.
Government Support and Regulatory Drive
The government has also supported DIP and FRI projects strongly on each level. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) published an advisory on June 30, 2025, requiring all banks, including small finance and co-operative banks to implement FRI in their systems. This regulatory support sees to it that FRI is made on a national standard for avoiding fraud, with financial institutions having no choice but to act on risk-based alerts.
Citizen Awareness and the Role of ASTR
DoT realises that technology by itself cannot eradicate cybercrime; public awareness also plays a crucial role. The Sanchar Saathi app and portal enable citizens to report fraudulent communications and track the status of their mobile connections. Through Sanchar Mitra volunteer programme will be conducted by enlisting students from universities to carry out awareness drives, workshops and ground-level sessions, making people aware of digital security and reporting fraud.
Another important tool is ASTR (Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Analytics), which will detect SIM purchase patterns using fake or duplicate identities. By addressing the problem at its core, ASTR minimises the likelihood of telecom resources being utilised for monetary scams.
Key Advantages of DIP, FRI and ASTR
The combined environment of DIP, FRI and ASTR presents a number of definite advantages for India’s cyber ecosystem:
Real-Time Coordination: Smooth sharing of information across DoT, banks, police and TSPs for instant action.
Predictive Fraud Prevention: High-risk numbers are alerted by FRI in advance and blocking possible numbers to prevent fraud.
SIM Fraud Detection: ASTR identifies multiple SIMs procured by using false identities and fraud networks
Financial Protection: Banks are able to reject or delay dubious transactions.
Public Trust: Citizens are safer using financial services digitally because preventive actions are monitored.
Support for Law Enforcement: DIP-generated data will help police to launch investigations.
Regulatory Backing: RBI’s mandate ensures nationwide adoption, making DIP and FRI part of India’s financial safety net.
The Road Ahead For Digital India
In future, the government plans to integrate DIP with blockchain-based transaction verification and machine-learning-based fraud prediction algorithms. Other plans are also in place to introduce a centralised mobile ID verification system to combat spoofing and unauthorised SIM issuance. All these future developments could shape DIP as a national digital trust infrastructure, safeguarding not only financial transactions but also e-commerce and government services.
The Digital Intelligence Platform and its tools are key players in India’s battle against cybercrime. Through the integration of technology, inter-agency cooperation and citizen participation, DoT has developed a powerful framework that will shift from reactive policing to preventive fraud enforcement.
Supported by regulatory authorities such as the RBI and others. Upgradation of financial institutions and ongoing citizen awareness drives, India is making a bold move towards a safer digital economy. The dream of a safer and more reliable digital ecosystem is no longer on the dream list; it is being constructed. One alert and one secured transaction at a time is the future of India.
