Centre issues guidelines to secure 80 cr internet users, make India $1 Trillion digital economy by 2026

According to the minister, the recently issued Cyber Security directions are just one piece in the overall cyber security architecture that the government is putting in place to counter the emerging threats.

New Delhi:In order to secure the current 80 crore internet users in the country, likely to become 120 crores in a few years, and achieve the aim of having a digital economy worth $1 Trillion by 2026, the Centre on Wednesday came out with detailed guidelines for the end-users, according to an official release.

“As we take rapid strides towards achieving our target of $1 Trillion digital economies, it is equally important to ensure that the Internet, which is presently accessed by 80 crore people and shall soon cover 120 crore people, remains open, safe, and trusted and accountable”, Union minister for electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said while releasing the guidelines to explain the directives issued on April 28.

The document is expected to create an atmosphere of online safety and trust to address cyber security by augmenting infrastructure, situational awareness of cyber threats, cyber security research, and development, creating awareness and capacity building, etc, said officials.

According to the minister, the recently issued Cyber Security directions are just one piece in the overall cyber security architecture that the government is putting in place to counter the emerging threats.

“Cyber Security Rules were already in place but they are around 11 years old which is a long time in the internet era. Over this period, the size, shape and dimension of the Internet have changed significantly. The nature of user harm and risks in 2022 is different from what it used to be a decade back. The perpetrators of cybercrimes are both state and non-state actors with sinister designs. Rapid and mandatory reporting of incidents is a must and a primary requirement for remedial action for ensuring stability and resilience of cyberspace,” said Chandrasekhar.

The guidelines, consisting of 44 questions, endeavor to respond to general queries on these Cyber Security Directions in a simple and easily understandable manner towards operationalization of these directions to achieve the objective for all the relevant entities and common users, said officials.

The document comprises the basic terminology and scope of the directions like- the reason for these Cyber Security Directions; who do these Cyber Security Directions of April 28, 2022, apply to; the functions of CERT-In in the area of cyber security; method of reporting, and format for incident reporting, etc.

Further, the document contains nuances and explanations of the Cyber Security Directions like- areas the Cyber Security Directions cover; the benefit of the directions to the users in the country; Do the directions affect the Right to Privacy of individuals; the time frame for reporting and information to be shared while reporting incidents; various applicability aspects of these Cyber Security Directions; and clarifications related to logging requirements, time synchronization, and maintenance of specific information by entities, etc.

For these programs, an amount of Rs 809.58 Crores has been spent during 2019-20 to 2021-22 and Rs 515 Crores has been allocated for cyber security programs for the year 2022-23.

The ministry is also implementing a project entitled ‘Information Security Education and Awareness Project Phase II’ with an outlay of Rs. 96.08 crores with the objectives of capacity building in the area of information security, training of Government personnel, and creation of mass information security awareness for various users.