There has been a whopping 389 per cent jump in allocation of funds by the government for strengthening cyber security between 2015-16 and 2021-22, even as a national strategy on the sensitive issue is in the works.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has spent ₹ 416 crore towards enhancing cyber security measures across the country during the current financial year (till June 2021), which is 389 per cent more than ₹ 85 crore which it had spent in 2015-16 for the same purpose. At the same time, ₹ 416 crore spent till now during 2021-22 are 34 per cent more than ₹ 310 crore which was spent in 2020-21 for strengthening cyber security.
The multi-fold increase in fund allotment for cyber security measures, sources said, underlined the government’s focus on the strategic issue.
Interestingly there was a slight dip in funds allocation for boosting cyber security in 2016-17, when only ₹ 70 crore were allotted compared to ₹ 85 crore released in 2015-16. However in 2017-18 there was a 100 per cent jump in allotment of funds when ₹ 140 crore were released. Since then, the allotment for the purpose has been in three figures, according to official data.
