New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) felicitated winners of the Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0, a flagship initiative aimed at strengthening India’s cyber security ecosystem.
Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, presented trophies and cash awards to the winning start-ups. The Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0 carried a total prize pool of ₹6.85 crore, making it one of the largest government-backed cyber innovation competitions in the country.
Cambrian Skillsda Technologies and Consultancy Services LLP (CSTCS) won the top prize of ₹1 crore for its solution on securing next-generation biometric systems. Crypsis secured the first runner-up position and received ₹50 lakh for its work on clone and fake app mitigation. Ziriz.ai emerged as the second runner-up and was awarded ₹25 lakh for its API security solution.
Structured evaluation under Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0
Launched in January 2025 on the MyGov platform, the initiative focused on six critical domains. These included API security, data security, wearable device security and privacy, clone and fake app mitigation, AI for threat detection and incident response, and securing next-generation biometric systems.
The challenge followed a four-stage evaluation process. At the Idea Stage, 36 start-ups received ₹5 lakh each to refine their concepts. Subsequently, during the Minimum Viable Product stage, participants received technical and business mentorship to develop prototypes.
Later, 18 start-ups advanced to the Final Product Stage and received ₹10 lakh each. After testing and validation, five start-ups secured ₹25 lakh awards. Finally, evaluators selected three grand winners based on commercial readiness, scalability and market potential.
Importantly, the intellectual property rights of the developed solutions remain with the respective start-ups. Therefore, the initiative promotes innovation while ensuring ownership and long-term growth for entrepreneurs.
Shri S. Krishnan said indigenous capability in cyber security is critical as digital threats continue to evolve. He emphasised that domestic solutions are essential to protect India’s expanding digital infrastructure. Moreover, he highlighted strong participation from student-led teams, start-ups and women-led enterprises.
He added that MeitY will continue to support indigenisation and ecosystem capacity building through sustained collaboration.
