Centre to train 5,000 Cyber Commandos over next 5 years: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that the Centre aims to train and prepare 5,000 ‘Cyber Commandos’ over the next five years in a bid to tackle the growing concerns around the rise of cybercrime. He made the announcement during his address at the first foundation day celebration of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), where he also dedicated a ‘Cyber Fraud Mitigation Centre’ (CFMC) to the nation.

Shah said that cybercrime knows no borders, which makes it crucial that all the relevant stakeholders come together to deal with this threat. “Country’s progress is not possible without cybersecurity,” he added.

What is the ‘Cyber Commandos’ program?

Under the ‘Cyber Commandos’ program, the Centre will establish a specialised unit of trained ‘Cyber Commandos’ across States and Union territories, according to a press statement issued by the Centre. Additionally, the Central Police Organizations (CPOs) will be tasked with tackling threats within the country’s cybersecurity landscape. The trained Cyber Commandos will support both State/ UT authorities and central agencies in safeguarding the digital spaces.

This along with other key initiatives in the field will strengthen the vision of a ‘Cyber Secure Bharat’, the Centre said.

The I4C was established on October 5, 2018, to create a national-level coordination centre for addressing cybercrime issues. On July 1, 2024, it was designated as an attached office under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

2023 cyber fraud stats

In February this year, the Centre said that a total of 1,128,256 cybercrime incidents were reported across India on the ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting Management System’ (CFCFMS) in 2023.

Part of I4C, CFCFMS was introduced to register the immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop syphoning off funds by fraudsters. In 2023, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of complaints on this portal at 197,547. The highest amount of fraud was reported in Maharashtra at Rs 9.9 billion.