India's AI Push: Cybersecurity Players Eye Union Budget Support

As India moves towards adopting AI, cybersecurity firms anticipate the Union Budget's measures to enhance the nation’s digital security. Industry leaders emphasize the need for government support in training talent and securing critical infrastructure to foster innovation and combat cyber threats.

With India looking to embrace artificial intelligence rapidly, cybersecurity players expect that the upcoming Union Budget will include measures to boost the safety of the country's digital space through further allocation of funds and incentives.

According to Tarun Wig, CEO and Co-founder of Innefu Labs, the global focus on AI presents a critical juncture for India. 'The AI and ML (machine learning) models can be trained to identify and prevent zero-day attacks. But this will require support from the government in nurturing and retaining top cyber talent, and empowering companies to invest in training AI models for cybersecurity,' Wig stated.

Wig added that while other nations are busy building their AI infrastructure, India must prioritize the optimum use of AI which could include training AI and ML models for improving defense and intelligence, reducing cyber crimes, identifying money laundering networks, and using AI for governance in rural areas.

Further government support for R&D in private sector companies, not just academia, would attract and retain talent and enable companies to innovate, fostering a digital environment for future advancements in AI, Wig explained.

The government had announced a fund worth Rs 1 lakh crore for R&D in sunrise technologies in the interim budget for financial year 2024-25.

Shashank Shekhar, Co-Founder of IIT Kanpur's AIIDE-CoE incubated Future Crime Research Foundation (FCRF), likened investment in cybersecurity to insurance for digital economies, noting that India faces some of the highest numbers of cyber attacks globally each year.

'While the government is making an effort to digitally empower every citizen of the country, it becomes imperative to secure them as well. We request the government to consider building Indian champions in the cybersecurity space to meet the aspiration of Viksit Bharat by 2047,' Shekhar said.

Ruchin Kumar, South Asia Vice President of Futurex, emphasized the importance of increasing funding for cybersecurity training programs to address the workforce skill gap. 'Collaborations with educational institutions to develop specialized cybersecurity courses and certifications must be fostered. We strongly recommend fund allocation specifically for protecting critical infrastructure from cyber threats,' Kumar stated.

Additionally, regular security audits and vulnerability assessments for critical infrastructure should be mandated and funded by the government, Kumar added.

Sanket Sarkar, Founder of Zeron, reflected on the government's consistent commitment to cybersecurity through investments and supportive policies. Sarkar expressed optimism that the upcoming budget will further enhance cybersecurity infrastructure and prioritize cyber resilience and innovation to defend against evolving threats and drive economic growth. 'This budget will be a bold declaration of India's intent to become a global cybersecurity leader,' he concluded.

(With inputs from agencies.)