Centre to offer grants to startups for cybersecurity solutions

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is in the process of working with the Data Security Council of India to offer Challenge Grants for cybersecurity to encourage startups to develop innovative technologies, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

"Rs 5 crore in grant will be for growth startups to come up with new solutions in the field of cybersecurity," Prasad said at the first Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team (APCERT) Open Conference in India, the first in South Asia, in New Delhi.

"Cybersecurity is a big emerging trend, and India's digital economy is on the highway of great growth," he added.

The Minister said the Centre will also offer PhD scholarships in cybersecurity to candidates from Asia Pacific, who pursue doctorate in any of the 100 leading universities in India, including Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institutes of Science.

"We must encourage more and more research in cyberspace. The government of India will promote full PhD research in cybersecurity for students from Asia Pacific countries. We will fund and encourage them to conduct good cybersecurity research," the Minister said.

Prasad said innovation in cybersecurity was a big focus area for the Narendra Modi government.

He said there were more than 100 cybersecurity product companies in the country at present.

It was proposed that in public procurements, preference shall be given by all procuring entities in the government to domestically manufactured/produced "cybersecurity products".

India was selected to be part of the steering committee of APCERT along with Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan to shape the agenda for the next two years across the region.