North News
New Delhi, February 11
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said that efforts are underway to use artificial intelligence (AI) for identifying and shutting down mule accounts in coordination with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other banks. Chairing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on ‘Cyber Security and Cyber Crime’ in New Delhi, Shah emphasized the government’s commitment to enhancing cyber resilience.
He reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mantra—“STOP-THINK-TAKE ACTION”—to raise public awareness about cyber threats. Shah highlighted the rapid expansion of India’s digital infrastructure, leading to increased cyber threats. He described cybercrime as a “borderless” and “formless” offense, stressing that tackling cyber fraud requires addressing vulnerabilities in software, services, and user awareness.
He noted that India, with 95% of villages digitally connected, witnessed 246 trillion UPI transactions worth ₹17.22 lakh crore in 2024, accounting for 48% of global digital transactions. The digital economy contributed ₹32 lakh crore (12% of GDP) in 2023, generating 15 million jobs.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has adopted a four-pronged cybercrime strategy—Convergence, Coordination, Communication, and Capacity-building. Shah praised inter-agency cooperation, including MHA, CERT-IN, I4C, and financial institutions, for successfully mitigating cyber threats.
To counter cyber financial fraud, Shah urged the promotion of the I4C helpline ‘1930.’ He revealed that over 1.43 lakh FIRs have been filed on the I4C portal, 19 crore users have accessed it, and ₹2,038 crore worth of fraudulent transactions have been prevented. Authorities have blocked 805 apps, 3,266 website links, and identified over 19 lakh mule accounts.
Shah also noted that Cyber Crime Forensic Training Labs are operational in 33 states and union territories, with over 101,000 police officers enrolled in cyber training programs.
