MeitY Secretary calls for resilient Indian software and hardware to combat cyber threats

India must urgently develop its own resilient software and hardware systems if it is to adequately defend itself against escalating cyber threats, the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology warned in a stark assessment of the country's digital security posture.

The MeitY Secretary's remarks underline a growing unease within government about the depth of India's dependence on foreign technology — particularly in critical infrastructure sectors like finance, telecommunications, energy and defence. Cyber attacks on such infrastructure have become more frequent and sophisticated globally, and India has not been immune, having faced several high-profile incidents targeting government portals, power grids and banking systems in recent years.

The call to build indigenous software and hardware is not new, but the urgency and explicitness of the framing signals that the government is moving beyond aspiration toward policy action. Initiatives like the Semicon India programme, support for domestic chip design, and software product development incentives are all part of the ecosystem being assembled to reduce this dependence.

For Indian technology companies, the statement represents both a challenge and an opportunity. Building systems that meet sovereign security standards requires significant investment, but success would open up a vast domestic government procurement market. The MeitY Secretary's remarks are likely to be followed by more concrete policy measures aimed at accelerating this transition.