Government spending on promoting cyber security has seen a manifold increase in six years
There has been a 389 per cent jump in the allocation of funds by the government to strengthen cyber security between 2015-16 and 2021-22, while a national strategy on the sensitive issue is in the works.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has spent Rs 416 crore for enhancing cyber security measures across the country during the current financial year (till June 2021), an increase of 389 per cent from the Rs 85 crore it did in 2015-16. had spent. same purpose.
At the same time, Rs 416 crore spent so far during 2021-22 is 34 percent more than Rs 310 crore spent in 2020-21 to strengthen cyber security.
Sources said the manifold increase in fund allocation for cyber security measures underscores the government’s focus on the strategic issue.
Interestingly, there was a slight decrease in the allocation of funds for promoting cyber security in 2016-17, when only Rs 70 crore was allocated as compared to Rs 85 crore released in 2015-16. However, when Rs 140 crore was released in 2017-18, there was a 100 per cent increase in the fund allocation. Since then, according to official figures, the allocation for this purpose has been done in three figures.
Also, the National Cyber Security Strategy is in the final stages of approval, sources said, adding that it could be finalized soon.
In fact, Minister of State for Defense Ajay Bhatt said in Parliament during the recently concluded monsoon session in response to a written question that the government has approved the formation of a Defense Cyber Agency to counter cyber attacks.
He had also informed that the three defense services have formed their respective cyber emergency response teams to counter digital threats.
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