Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefed on the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ efforts to combat cybercrime during a meeting with central ministry secretaries last week. The meeting, which lasted around four hours, covered several key points, including the launch of the E-Zero FIR initiative and the prevention of cyber fraud worth over Rs 25,000 crore.
The E-Zero FIR system, launched last year, automatically converts cyber financial crime complaints into Zero FIRs if the reported loss exceeds Rs 10 lakh. This system is currently operational in 10 states and Union Territories, including Delhi, Haryana, and Odisha, with plans to implement it in at least 19 more states and Union Territories underway.
According to data presented during the meeting, India recorded 98 lakh cybercrime complaints between August 2019 and May 2026, resulting in only 2.3 lakh FIRs being registered during the same period. This translates to an FIR conversion rate of 2.36 per cent.
The Centre has also taken steps to block URLs, apps, and websites containing material prejudicial to India’s sovereignty and integrity. Between 2021 and May 2026, around 2.75 lakh URLs, 233 apps, and 3,691 websites were blocked under the Information Technology Act.
In addition to these efforts, the home ministry informed PM Modi that immediate interventions have helped prevent fraud worth Rs 25,095 crore. The ministry also reported that 2.27 crore transactions were declined, around 12.1 lakh mule accounts were debit-frozen, and 31.6 lakh suspect identifiers were flagged with the help of the suspect registry.
The meeting also covered the home ministry’s future plans, including the setting up of state and regional cyber crime coordination centres and training police personnel to make them cyber commandos. Furthermore, 1,596 banks and financial institutions have been onboarded on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal’s Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System.
The home ministry also briefed PM Modi on the money restoration module, which aims to provide refunds to victims of cybercrime. Between 2021 and May 2026, people reported cybercrime losses of Rs 64,447 crore, with Rs 10,718 crore frozen as lien and only Rs 323 crore refunded to victims.
