India in final stages of setting up Defence Cyber Agency

India is setting up a cyber agency under the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) to deal with potent threats in the cyber space, Lt Gen M M Naravane, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command, said Tuesday.

He said that the Armed Forces were alive to cyber threats which necessitated a cyber agency that will be set up by pooling talent from all three services - Army, Air Force and Navy.

"It will be an inter-services agency, not purely Army, functioning under the IDS and they will be looking after all the threats in the cyber domain," Naravane told newspersons during Army Day celebrations at Fort William, the Army's Eastern Command headquarter here.

The IDS is responsible for fostering coordination and enabling prioritisation across the different branches of the Indian Armed Forces.

"It will be headed by a two-star rank officer," the Eastern Army Commander said.

Naravane said that the entire proposal is under final formulation.

Stating that the cyber agency will not be a full-fledged command, he said its units will be spread across the country.

"There will be units or cells or dedicated officers at every headquarter to deal with the aspect of cyber security," he said.

The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, earlier laid a wreath at 'Vijay Smarak', Fort William and paid homage to the courageous soldiers who laid down their lives while protecting the country.

Similar ceremonies were held at all military stations in the eastern theatre.

To mark the occasion, five units from Eastern Command were conferred with the Chief of Army Staff Unit Citation for exemplary professional performance, an army official said.

"On similar lines, 18 units have been awarded the Unit Appreciation by the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Command, which includes 10 infantry battalions, two artillery regiments, two engineer regiments, one aviation squadron, one ASC battalion and two Assam Rifles battalions," the official said.