In a significant stride towards building a robust domestic cybersecurity talent and technology pipeline, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) jointly felicitated the winners of the Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0 (CSGC 2.0) on February 26, 2026. MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan presided over the felicitation ceremony, distributing a cumulative prize pool of ₹6.85 crore to outstanding innovators whose solutions are poised to fortify the security architecture of India’s rapidly expanding digital public infrastructure.
Recognising Innovation at the Intersection of Security and Sovereignty
The Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0 was conceived as a flagship government-industry initiative to catalyse the development of indigenous cybersecurity tools, platforms, and capabilities that can be directly deployed in securing government services, critical information infrastructure, and citizen-facing digital ecosystems. Implemented in partnership with DSCI — the apex body on data protection and cybersecurity in India — the challenge attracted entries from startups, academic institutions, research organisations, and technology professionals across the country. Speaking at the felicitation event, Secretary S. Krishnan underscored the strategic imperative of developing homegrown solutions, noting that India’s digital ambitions can only be fully realised when the nation commands sovereign-grade cybersecurity capabilities.
