HT Bureau
NAMSAI, July 16: In a significant push towards digital safety and rural empowerment, the NIIT Foundation and Arunachal State Rural Livelihoods Mission (ArSRLM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the Cyber Security Plus initiative across Arunachal Pradesh.
The agreement was formalised on the sidelines of the two-day Performance Review Committee (PRC) meeting hosted by the Ministry of Rural Development at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in New Delhi.
Related Posts:
According to an official statement, the initiative aims to bolster cyber literacy and resilience among rural youth and women by targeting Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) and Rural Self Employment Training Institute (RSETI) centres. In addition to rural training centres, NIIT Foundation will also implement the programme in schools, colleges, and among members of women’s Self Help Groups (SHGs) throughout the state.
The Cyber Suraksha Plus project is part of a broader national mission to build a digitally secure India, and seeks to empower 2.7 million individuals with the skills needed to identify, prevent, and respond to cyber threats.
“India, as the world’s second-largest internet user base with over 1.1 billion users, is vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks,” the NIIT Foundation said in a statement. “With each cyber incident causing an average financial loss of ₹5 lakh, even preventing one million incidents annually could save the country over ₹50,000 crore.”
Over the past three years, NIIT Foundation has trained more than 1 million individuals through awareness and education programs.
However, with industry estimates suggesting a shortfall of 1.5 million skilled cybersecurity professionals by 2026, the need for urgent and scaled-up intervention remains high.
The initiative will also explore the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address cyber threats, with plans to introduce AI-based fraud detection systems, intelligent transaction monitoring tools, and regional-language AI chatbots to spread digital awareness among underserved and marginalised populations.
Through grassroots partnerships and targeted awareness sessions, the NIIT Foundation and ArSRLM intend to build cyber resilience across Arunachal Pradesh.
Cyber Security Awareness sessions will be conducted at Kaushal Panjee training centres and RSETIs under the Ministry of Rural Development’s DDU-GKY program.
The collaboration underscores a shared vision for secure and inclusive digital empowerment, and marks a key step in Arunachal Pradesh’s journey toward a cyber-literate and economically self-reliant society.
