The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) have entered into a strategic partnership to enhance cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and data privacy across the country’s rapidly growing digital payments sector.
The collaboration was formalised with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in the recent past, at a time when the adoption of digital transactions, including UPI, is surging and the need for robust cybersecurity measures is more critical than ever. This partnership is designed to address the evolving cybersecurity challenges by focusing on capacity building, proactive risk management, and the development of a skilled workforce capable of countering emerging threats in the digital payments ecosystem.
Under this MoU, NPCI and IDRBT will jointly conduct specialised training programs for technology and cybersecurity professionals in the banking and digital payments sectors. These programs will cover essential areas such as cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and data privacy, ensuring that professionals are equipped with the latest knowledge and best practices to safeguard digital transactions. A key highlight of the collaboration is the launch of an exclusive NPCI-certified payment security certification program, which will be tailored to meet current industry requirements and regulatory expectations, empowering professionals to stay ahead of emerging cyber threats.
In addition to training and certification, the partnership will see IDRBT extending its advanced threat intelligence platform, सचेत (IBCART 3.0), to NPCI and its partner organisations. This platform will deliver real-time, contextualised threat intelligence feeds, enabling organisations to anticipate, identify, and mitigate cyberattacks before they impact the digital payment network. By leveraging such advanced cyber-intelligence tools, the collaboration aims to foster a culture of security awareness and proactive risk mitigation across both rural and urban payment ecosystems.
Leadership from both organisations has emphasised the broader impact of this initiative. Dilip Asbe, MD and CEO of NPCI, highlighted that strengthening cyber resilience is not just about deploying technology but also about empowering people through structured capacity building, training, certifications, and intelligence sharing. Dr. Deepak Kumar, Director of IDRBT, underscored the importance of nurturing security awareness, capability-building, and proactive response to ensure the robustness and resilience of India’s payments ecosystem.
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This collaboration between NPCI and IDRBT marks a milestone in India’s digital public infrastructure journey. It reinforces the commitment to secure financial ecosystems by empowering the sector with skilled manpower, certified frameworks, and advanced cyber-intelligence tools, which are essential as cyber threats continue to grow in sophistication alongside the rapid expansion of digital payments in India.
