Key Points
- Ministry of Home Affairs launches CIAR pilot project for state police.
- Arrest rate for cybercrimes stands at a concerning 1%.
- 3.1 million complaints related to cyber fraud reported from 2020 to February 2024.
- Public losses from cyber frauds estimated at Rs 25,000 crore over three years.
- Central teams will assist state police with investigations when needed.
Looma News
The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs is finally getting real about a big problem, the arrest rate for cybercrimes is stuck at a pitiful 1%. Yes, you read that right. To tackle this, they’ve launched a new pilot project called the Cyber Investigation Assistance Request (CIAR) to help state police sort through the messy world of cybercrime.
Word is, state forces have been having a tough time with these cases, often feeling lost when it comes to getting help, especially from private tech companies. With CIAR, there’ll be teams of cyber experts and legal pros ready to jump in whenever state police need a hand.
The Bigger Picture
This pilot isn’t officially rolling yet—they want to test how well it works before diving in. And the numbers are wild. From 2020 to February 2024, the National Cyber Crime Portal saw a whopping 3.1 million complaints about cyber fraud. That’s not just a number; it’s real money lost for people all over the country, with damages hitting around Rs 25,000 crore. To give you an idea, that’s twice what Sikkim’s annual budget is!
What’s even scarier is that this year, out of over 66,000 cyber fraud cases, only about 500 led to arrests. Last year, there were around 27 FIRs filed every day, which is a huge gap compared to all the complaints coming in. From January to June 2024, victims lost over Rs 1 crore each in 709 complaints, adding up to an eye-popping Rs 1,421 crore in total losses. Clearly, something needs to change fast.
Recently, bigwigs from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and MHA had a chat with social media giants like Instagram and WhatsApp about these issues. Everyone gets that things can’t stay the same, and with CIAR in the game, there’s hope that state police might finally get the backup they need to fight back against cybercrime.
