Karnataka Allocates Rs 104 Crore Towards Cybersecurity

The Karnataka government has allocated Rs 104 crore towards cybersecurity over the next five years to combat and raise awareness against online crime. This follows the government's launch of the Cybersecurity Policy 2024 on Aug. 1.

The expenses would be met from the budgetary allocation of the Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science and Technology. Of this, Rs 23.74 crore would go towards providing incentives and concessions.

The new policy is divided into two parts. The first one focuses on building a strong cybersecurity ecosystem across all segments of society, including the public, academia, industry, startups and government. The second part of the policy focuses on strengthening the cybersecurity posture of the state's IT assets.

While the first part will be in the public domain, the second one will be internal to the state's IT teams and departments for their IT implementations.

Cybersecurity policy focuses on several key areas such as awareness and education, skill building, promotion of industry and startups, partnerships and collaborations for capacity building, etc. 

The state's Information Technology and Biotechnology Minister, Priyank Kharge, said, “The policy, aligned with national and international efforts, highlights Karnataka's proactive stance in addressing cyber threats. Its implementation would significantly protect the state's digital infrastructure. It will also foster innovation and growth within the cybersecurity sector.”

The policy aims to build a dynamic, secure, and resilient cyberspace for all G2G, G2B, and G2C services of the government of Karnataka. He added that it also aims to create an assurance framework, strengthen the regulatory framework, quickly respond to security threats, protect critical information, reduce supply chain risks, and develop human resources. 

Under the internship programme, a stipend of Rs 10,000–15,000 per month will be provided for a maximum of three months to Karnataka-based undergraduate and postgraduate interns. The target is to facilitate 600 undergraduate interns and 120 postgraduate interns during the policy period.

For R&D projects in the domain of cybersecurity, driven by Karnataka-based startups and in collaboration with Karnataka-based academic institutes, a matching grant of up to a maximum of 50% of the total project R&D cost, or up to Rs 50 lakh, will be provided. 

Further, reimbursement of the cost up to a maximum of Rs 1 lakh towards the engagement of Karnataka-based, CERT-in-empanelled service providers by startups registered with the Karnataka Startup Cell for cybersecurity audits will also be given by the government. 

To oversee the implementation of the policy, a cybersecurity committee has been constituted, which will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary to the Karnataka government.

The DPAR(e-Gov) Secretary will be the Member Secretary. A Chief Information Security Officer will be nominated at the state level and ISOs will be nominated by all the government departments.