India Inc. Strengthens its Grip on Cyber security

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance had recently summoned top officials from prominent organizations such as Google, Apple, Flipkart, Paytm, Yes Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India, and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to address the issue of "Cybersecurity and the increasing occurrence of cyber/white collar crimes.”

Chaired by former Minister of State for Finance Jayant Sinha, representatives from prominent tech companies, including Apple, convened with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance in Delhi to address concerns related to cybercrime and security. The committee called for this meeting to discuss issues surrounding online scams and fraudulent mobile apps. Reports indicate that Apple was represented by Virat Bhatia, MD-Strategy, Policy; Priyesh Poovanna, India Counsel; Prateek Hiremath, Senior Counsel - India; and Kulin Sanghvi, Head of Policy. Flipkart, an e-commerce company, was represented by Jeyandran Venugopal, CTO, and Paytm, a fintech company, was represented by Srinivas Yanamandra, Regulatory Affairs and Policy. The meeting provided an opportunity for an exchange of views between the committee and these tech industry representatives.

Representatives from these organizations provided oral evidence on the subject. Specifically, senior officials from the banking sector have been asked to deliver comprehensive presentations on strategies to combat cyber threats and enhance cybersecurity within the country."It is very interesting to see how the Indian corporate ecosystem and the government machineries are working together to create a cohesive victory over cyberthreats. No doubt we are gearing up quite proactively towards the forthcoming Data Privacy era. I eagerly look forward to this monsoon session", said PBA Srinivasan, Editor in Chief, Lex Witness - India's 1st Magazine on Legal & Corporate Affairs.

The matter of cybersecurity and the rise of cybercrime has been a focal point in recent discussions held by the committee. In a previous meeting earlier this month, industry experts were interrogated by lawmakers on various aspects of illicit activities, including fraudulent loan applications. Notable participants in the meeting included Chase India, Razorpay, PhonePe, CRED, QNu Labs, as well as NASSCOM, the trade body and chamber of commerce for the technology industry in India. The meeting also addressed concerns surrounding fraudulent lending apps.

In February of this year, the government took action by blocking 232 apps operated by foreign entities, particularly Chinese, due to their involvement in activities such as betting, gambling, and unauthorized loan services. Among the blocked apps were 138 associated with betting, gambling, and money laundering, and 94 involved in unauthorized loan services, which were deemed threats to the country's economic stability.

The monsoon session of Parliament is scheduled to commence on July 20th and will run until August 11th. It will be interesting to see how India Inc. shapes up to critical legislative moments.