Samanvaya, the joint cybercrime investigation facilitation platform under the Union Home Ministry, has so far helped map criminal infrastructure and trace digital footprints across States, resulting in 12,987 arrests and the detection of about 1.52 lakh criminal linkages. It has handled 70,584 cyber investigation assistance requests, according to government records.
The platform, which was launched in September 2024, is one of the verticals of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) for inter-States/Union Territories coordination. It provides analytics-based inter-State linkages of criminals and crimes.
More than 86% of households in India are now said to be connected to the Internet and this surge has also brought cybersecurity challenges, with incidents more than doubling from 10.29 lakh in 2022 to 22.68 lakh in 2024. The sectors flagged as most vulnerable are critical infrastructure, finance, health, and telecommunications, as per a Public Information Bureau (PIB) statement.
The Enforcement Directorate has identified key cyber frauds as Pig Butchering, in which victims are lured into fake relationships/job offers; Phantom Hacking, in which fraudsters pose as government or tech support officials; online betting/gambling platforms; and instant loan apps. Methods like spoofing, phishing, and deepfakes leveraging Artificial Intelligence are being used by fraudsters.
Attempts have also been made to target Unified Payments Interface (UPI) using compromised mobile numbers. As a counter measure, the Department of Telecommunications has launched the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator that classifies suspicious numbers as medium, high, or very high-risk.
The PIB stressed that the Centre has implemented strong defence mechanisms to safeguard the online community. About 1.06 lakh police officers are now registered on CyTrain portal, with over 82,704 certificates on cybercrime investigation skills issued.
Laws such as the Information Technology Act and and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act are invoked for effective action. So far, over 9.42 lakh SIM cards and 2,63,348 International Mobile Equipment Identities linked to frauds have been blocked. Given that online betting apps were a big menace, the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill was passed on August 21, 2025, imposing a complete ban on such acts.
A close watch is kept by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) for quick response to cybersecurity events. It sends alerts and prescribes remedial measures to the affected organisations.
For the safety of critical infrastructure, designated nodal body— National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre— coordinates with stakeholders in sectors such as banking, telecom, power, and transportation. Besides, I4C assists enforcement agencies and has so far blocked 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts linked to cyber frauds.
In the Union Budget 2025, the government has allocated ₹782 crore for taking strong measures. “Through the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS), financial institutions have been able to save more than ₹5,489 crore in over 17.82 lakh complaints,” it said.
Another initiative, the national cybercrime reporting portal, facilitates receipt of complaints by victims. A dedicated helpline number, 1930, has also been provided. The National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems plays a key role in promoting advanced research and innovation in collaboration with academic institutions, industry, and government to explore solutions.
Under the Cyber Crime Prevention Against Women and Children Scheme, forensic laboratories have trained over 24,600 personnel. The Cyber Crisis Management Plan has been initiated for all government bodies to strengthen preparedness against cyber attacks/terrorism. This apart, Sahyog portal facilitates automated issuance of “unlawful content” removal notices to intermediaries for quick action.
The government has also been carrying out awareness campaigns and exercises. “At the 9th India Mobile Congress (October 8-11), cybersecurity will be one of the key focus areas, highlighting India’s efforts to protect digital networks and emerging technologies from cyber threats,” said the PIB. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Published – October 10, 2025 02:55 am IST
