Lok Sabha Question No. 817 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-25
Subject: High Cost of Investigating Cyber Crime
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Raksha Nikhil Khadse

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 817

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 25 TH  JULY, 2023/ SRAVANA 3, 1945 (SAKA)

HIGH COST OF INVESTIGATING CYBER CRIME

817. SHRIMATI RAKSHA NIKHIL KHADSE:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of the fact that in many instances of Cyber Crime the victims were not turning up for registration due to high investigation  cost  which  is  sometimes  more  than  the  loss  suffered  and lack  of  enough  evidence thereby further motivating fraudsters leading to increase in cyber crimes;

- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the steps initiated by the Government in brining regulatory framework to  plug  the  loopholes  and  to  minimize  the  cost  of  investigation  to department so also to the victims?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI AJAY KUMAR MISHRA)

(a) to (c): '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   law  enforcement   agencies  take  legal  action  as  per  the

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 817 FOR 25.07.2023

provisions  of  law  against  persons  involved  in  cyber  crime.  The  Central Government supplements the initiatives of the States/UTs through advisories  and  financial  assistance  under  various  schemes  for  their capacity building.

To strengthen the mechanism to deal with cyber crimes in a comprehensive and coordinated manner, and to make optimum use of the resources  thereby  bringing  down  the  cost  of  cyber  crime  investigations, both for the State LEAs as well as the victims, the Central Government has taken steps which, inter-alia, include the following:

- i. Established  'Indian  Cyber  Crime  Coordination  Centre'  (I4C)  to  deal with  all  types  of  cyber  crime  in  the  country,  in  a  coordinated  and comprehensive manner.
- ii. The  'National  Cyber  Forensic  Laboratory  (Investigation)'  has  been established  at  New  Delhi  to  provide  early  stage  cyber  forensic assistance to Investigating Officers (IOs) of all State/UT Police both through online and offline modes.
- iii. Launched a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) platform, namely 'CyTrain'  portal  for  capacity  building  of  all  the  stakeholders,  police officers, judicial officers and prosecutors through online courses on

## L.S.US.Q.NO. 817 FOR 25.07.2023

critical aspects of cyber crime investigation, forensics, prosecution, etc. along with certification.

- iv. Training  curriculum  has  been  prepared  for  police  personnel,  public prosecutors and judicial officers for better handling of investigation and  prosecution  and  States/UTs  have  been  requested  to  organize training programmes accordingly. 36118 LEAs, 2022 Judicial Officer and 2240 Public Prosecutors have been trained by Ministry of Home Affairs, State Government and BPR&D.
- v. The 'National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal' (https://cybercrime.gov.in)  has  been  launched  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  this  portal,  their  conversion  into  FIRs  and subsequent action thereon are handled by the State/UT Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) concerned as per the provisions of the law.

## L.S.USQ.NO.817 FOR 25.07.2023

- vi. The  'Citizen  Financial  Cyber  Fraud  Reporting  and  Management System'  has  been  launched  for  immediate  reporting  of  financial frauds and to stop siphoning off funds by the fraudsters. A toll-free Helpline number '1930' has been operationalized to get assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.
- vii. Under  the  Cybercrime  Prevention  against  Women  and  Children (CCPWC)  Scheme,  financial  assistance  to  the  tune  of  Rs.  122.24 Crore  has  been  provided  to  all  State/UTs  essentially  to  develop capabilities  of  Law  Enforcement  Agencies in  terms  of  investigation tools and man power, which are aimed at bringing down the cost of investigating cyber crime.
- viii. Seven Joint Cyber Coordination  Teams  have  been constituted covering the whole country based upon cyber crime hotspots/ areas having  multi  jurisdictional  issues  by  on  boarding  States/UTs  to enhance the coordination framework among  the LEAs of the States/UTs

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- ix. The 'National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (Evidence)' has been set up at Hyderabad to provide the necessary forensic support in cases of evidence  related  to  cyber  crime,  preserving  the  evidence  and  its analysis in line with the provisions of IT Act and Evidence Act; and reduced turnaround time.
- x. Ministry of Home Affairs has also provided central assistance under 'Assistance to States & UTs for Modernization of Police' Scheme to the  States  &  UTs  for  the  acquisition  of  latest  weaponry,  training gadgets, advanced communication/forensic equipment, Cyber Policing equipment etc.

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