However, economic offences and cybercrimes rose slightly to touch 6 per cent of all crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Between 2019 and 2024, around 22 million IPC crimes were registered in India. In 2019, 3.2 million cases were reported, which rose to 4.3 million in 2020. The number fell to 3.7 million in 2021, during the peak of Covid, increased slightly to 3.8 million in 2023, and declined again to 3.5 million in 2024.
A total of 5.8 million cognizable crimes were registered in India in 2024. Of these, 3.5 million were IPC cases, while 2.3
million were Special and Local Laws (SLL) crimes.
The share of economic offence cases out of total IPC cases was 5.1 per cent in 2019, declined to 4.8 per cent in 2021, but rose to 5.4 per cent in 2023 and further to 6 per cent in 2024, higher than pre-Covid levels. Telangana, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra topped the list of states with the highest number of economic offence cases, reporting 39,127, 27,637, and 20,083 cases, respectively.
Similarly, the share of cybercrime cases out of total IPC cases increased from 1.4 per cent in 2019 to 1.9 per cent in 2022, then to 2.3 per cent in 2023, and further to 2.9 per cent in 2024 — again higher than pre-Covid levels. Telangana, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of cybercrime cases, with 27,230, 21,993, and 11,073 cases, respectively.
Category-wise, most economic offence cases in 2024 were registered under Forgery, Cheating & Fraud (89.7 per cent), followed by Criminal Breach of Trust (9.9 per cent) and Counterfeiting (0.3 per cent).
The share of Forgery, Cheating & Fraud has steadily increased from 86.8 per cent in 2019 to 87.4 per cent in 2021 to 88.6 per cent in 2023, and 89.7 per cent in 2024. The shares of Counterfeiting and Criminal Breach of Trust have declined during this period.
In India, cybercrime cases have seen a sharp rise in recent years, with category-wise data from 2024 highlighting the dominance of fraud-related offences.
Fraud cases comprised the highest among cyber crime cases, with 29,758 incidents, followed by cheating with 19,296 cases. Cyberstalking and bullying of women and children accounted for around 1,240 cases, forgery stood at 598, and fake news on social media saw 483 cases. These categories represent the most significant forms of cybercrime reported across the country. Out of these five major categories, four witnessed growth between 2023 and 2024.
Fraud cases surged dramatically, registering a 191 per cent increase in just one year. Fake news on social media also rose sharply by 131 per cent, while forgery cases grew by 58 per cent and cheating cases by 13 per cent. However, cyberstalking and bullying of women and children declined by 5 per cent, the only category to see a fall.
This trend underscores the growing challenge of financial and digital fraud in India’s cybercrime landscape.
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