Government to fund R&D cost of up to Rs 5cr for cyber security

The government will fund research and development cost of up to Rs 5 crore incurred by any company on developing an original cyber security product in the country, IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday.

"Challenge grant - it is a Rs 5 crore grant for the start-up. Come up with original product in the field of cyber security, the government will fund your entire research to the tune of Rs 5 crore," Prasad said at a cyber security event organised by industry chamber Assocham.

He said that India's digital or information sector is growing very fast for which cyber security is very important.

The minister said the IT ministry recently issued notices to smartphone manufacturers to furnish details of cyber security firewalls inside their mobile phones.

"We are going to have cyber security standards for telephones. We are finalising that...Let me tell all mobile manufacturers that your product must be security compliant. There shall be no compromise on that," Prasad said.

The minister said that digital governance has helped the government save Rs 57,000 crore in last three years which used to be pocketed by middlemen.

Prasad said that transactions on BHIM and UPI have increased significantly after demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016.

"It started on November 8. BHIM and UPI app transactions have increased from 3,700 transactions per day to 5.4 lakh transactions a day. In terms of value, it has risen from Rs 1.93 crore per day to Rs 87 crore per day," the minister said.