Giving final touch to cyber security standards for phones: Prasad

NEW DELHI: Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Government of India is finalising cyber security standards for telephones.

“Let me tell all mobile manufacturing units that your product must be security-compliant, there shall be no compromise on that,” said Prasad while addressing an ASSOCHAM conference on Cyber and Network Security.

He also said that IT and Electronics department had issued notice to most of the mobile companies manufacturing smart phones they were asked to furnish details related to cyber security. “I am very keen that cyber security initiative of India must become a lesson for the world.”

He informed that in last three years 93 mobile manufacturing factories have come up in India with Noida emerging as a big hub for mobile manufacturing where 32 such factories have come up.

“I have told the UP chief minister also that Noida and Greater Noida has great potential of becoming a center of software park, educational and management hub and other commercial activity,” said Prasad.

He also said that cyber enabled security testing is going to become a big initiative in India. “We need low-cost cyber technology and low-cost well qualified cyber auditors.”

Highlighting the various initiatives being undertaken by the Government with regards to cyber security he said “Every digitally connected industry must have cyber security officers who must be able to tell you what precautions you must take in an industry and business to keep cyber criminals at bay that is what we are insisting.”

“We are also insisting all banks to have cyber security auditors. We are unleashing a big challenge to have cyber security training, drills for officers, judges and policemen,” he added.

Talking about the need to create human resource in field of cyber knowledge, he said that 44 universities and colleges have been identified in this regard.

“We are going to begin cyber security educational course as a big learning ground to make good graduates for future requirement,” said Mr Prasad adding that cyber security education is going to become a very good job giving education.

The union minister also said that there have been three phases of growth of India’s IT industry, whereby in phase one Indian IT companies became the ‘toast of the world’ while in phase two international giants like Amazon, Google, Facebook, Twitter and others came to India considering it a huge market.

“The third phase is that of India’s domestic IT initiative, startup movement which is growing very fast with 3-4 startups are coming up everyday,” said Mr Prasad.

“We have about 5000 startups in India today and many of them are becoming unicorn companies i.e. Rs 1,000 crore companies like Flipkart and others, this digital ecosystem of India is going to rise and no one can stop this march,” he added.

He also informed that since November 8, 2016, the transactions of BHIM app and Rupay have increased from 3,700 transactions per day to 5.4 lakh transactions per day while in terms of value it has risen from Rs 1.93 crore per day to Rs 87 crore per day.

He further said that India’s digital economy which is today worth $500 million has the potential to become $1 trillion in the coming 4-5 years as digital highway of India is growing very fast.