Current Affairs

CYBER AWARENESS

CYBER AWARENESS

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes the statistical data on crimes in its publication “Crime in India”. The latest published report is for the year 2023. As per the data published by the NCRB, State/UT wise details of cases registered under cyber crimes (involving communication devices as medium/target) during the period from 2021 to 2023 are at the Annexure.

 

‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. The States/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes including cyber crime through their Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs). The Central Government supplements the initiatives of the States/UTs through advisories and financial assistance under various schemes for capacity building of their LEAs.

 

Sufficient provisions are available under the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act) to deal with cyber crime in the country.

 

To strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, the Central Government has taken steps which, inter-alia, include the following:

The Ministry of Home Affairs has set up the ‘Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre’ (I4C)as an attached office to deal with all types of cyber crimes in the country, in a coordinated and comprehensive manner.

The ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’ (NCRP) (https://cybercrime.gov.in) has been launched, as a part of the I4C, to enable public to report incidents pertaining to all types of cyber crimes, with special focus on cyber crimes against women and children. Cyber crime incidents reported on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, their conversion into FIRs and subsequent action i.e. filing of chargesheets, arrest and resolution of complaints, thereon are handled by the State/UT Law Enforcement Agencies concerned as per the provisions of the law.

 

The ‘Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System’ (CFCFRMS), under I4C, has been launched in year 2021 for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters. As per CFCFRMS operated by I4C, till 31.01.2026, financial amount of more than Rs. 8,690 Crore has been saved in more than 24.65 lakh complaints.  A toll-free Helpline number ‘1930’ has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.

 

A comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) has been issued by the Central Government on 2nd January 2026. It provides a uniform, victim-centric framework for handling complaints through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System (CFCFRMS). The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for NCRP-CFCFRMS outlines a dedicated Coordination Mechanism to enhance collaboration, particularly with States and Union Territories, whose police agencies are integral stakeholders in the system.

 

The Central Government has taken various initiatives to create cyber crime awareness which, inter-alia, include:-  

The Hon’ble Prime Minister spoke about digital arrests during the episode “Mann Ki Baat” on 27.10.2024  and apprised  the citizens  of India.

 

A special programme was organized by Aakashvani, New Delhi on Digital Arrest on 28.10.2024.

 

Caller Tune Campaign: I4C is collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a caller tune campaign with effect from 19.12.2024 for raising awareness about cybercrime and promoting the Cybercrime Helpline Number 1930 & NCRP portal.

 

The caller tunes were also being broadcast in English, Hindi and 10 regional languages by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs). Six versions of caller tunes were played which cover various modus-operandi, namely, Digital Arrest, Investment Scam, Malware, Fake Loan App, Fake Social Media Advertisements.

 

The Central Government has launched a comprehensive awareness programme on digital arrest scams which, inter-alia, include; newspaper advertisement, announcement in Delhi Metros, use of social media influencers to create special posts, campaign through Prasar Bharti and electronic media, special programme on Aakashvani.

In partnership with DD News, I4C conducted a cybercrime awareness campaign running through Weekly Show Cyber-Alert starting from 19th July 2025 for 52 Weeks.

To further spread awareness on cyber crime, the Central Government has taken steps which, inter-alia, include; dissemination of messages through SMS, I4C social media account i.e. X (formerly Twitter) (@CyberDost), Facebook(CyberDostI4C),

Instagram (CyberDostI4C), Telegram(cyberdosti4c), SMS campaign, TV campaign, Radio campaign, School Campaign, advertisement in cinema halls, celebrity endorsement, IPL campaign, campaign during Kumbh Mela 2025 & Suraj Kund Mela 2025, engaged MyGov for publicity in multiple mediums,  organizing Cyber Safety and Security Awareness weeks in association with States/UTs, publishing of Handbook for Adolescents/Students, digital displays on railway stations and airports across, etc.

ANNEXURE

 

State/UT-wise Cases Registered under Cyber Crimes during 2021-2023

 

SL

State/UT

2021

2022

2023

1

Andhra Pradesh

1875

2341

2341

2

Arunachal Pradesh

47

14

24

3

Assam

4846

1733

909

4

Bihar

1413

1621

4450

5

Chhattisgarh

352

439

473

6

Goa

36

90

86

7

Gujarat

1536

1417

1995

8

Haryana

622

681

751

9

Himachal Pradesh

70

77

127

10

Jharkhand

953

967

1079

11

Karnataka

8136

12556

21889

12

Kerala

626

773

3295

13

Madhya Pradesh

589

826

685

14

Maharashtra

5562

8249

8103

15

Manipur

67

18

3

16

Meghalaya

107

75

64

17

Mizoram

30

1

31

18

Nagaland

8

4

2

19

Odisha

2037

1983

2348

20

Punjab

551

697

511

21

Rajasthan

1504

1833

2435

22

Sikkim

0

26

12

23

Tamil Nadu

1076

2082

4121

24

Telangana

10303

15297

18236

25

Tripura

24

30

36

26

Uttar Pradesh

8829

10117

10794

27

Uttarakhand

718

559

494

28

West Bengal

513

401

309

TOTAL STATE(S)

52430

64907

85603

29

A&N Islands

8

28

47

30

Chandigarh

15

27

23

31

D&N Haveli and Daman & Diu

5

5

6

32

Delhi

356

685

407

33

Jammu & Kashmir

154

173

185

34

Ladakh

5

3

1

35

Lakshadweep

1

1

1

36

Puducherry

0

64

147

TOTAL UT(S)

544

986

817

TOTAL (ALL INDIA)

52974

65893

86420

Source: ‘Crime in India’ published by NCRB.

 

This was stated by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha. 

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