India Launches Cyber Security Innovation Challenge 1.0 to Boost Homegrown Defence Capabilities

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), together with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) and C-DAC Hyderabad, has launched the Cyber Security Innovation Challenge (CSIC) 1.0 under the Information Security Education and Awareness (ISEA) initiative. The launch event, held on 24 November 2025 at Electronics Niketan, New Delhi, brought together senior government officials, academic leaders and industry experts.

The initiative was introduced by S Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, who released the concept video, website, registration portal and rule book for CSIC 1.0. He highlighted the need for a two-pronged national strategy that strengthens both awareness of emerging threats and India’s technological capabilities. He emphasised that the challenge aims to nurture skilled cybersecurity professionals and accelerate the creation of homegrown, product-driven solutions, while reinforcing a ‘whole-of-nation’ approach to cyber resilience.

Vinayak Godse, CEO of DSCI, provided an overview of the challenge’s five-stage ...