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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is exploring AI solutions to combat cybercrimes as part of India's Rs 10,738-crore AI initiative along with the Ministry of Home Affairs. Among other things, the center has developed a natural language processing (NLP) model to help citizens file cybercrime reports with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and analyze victim complaints based on the type of fraud and other relevant parameters to help classify them. This is part of a hackathon launched by IndiaAI last week to use artificial intelligence to improve cybersecurity and combat fraud and cybercrime. With about 6,000 cases being reported through NCRP every day, the initiative aims to create a robust AI-based solution that can manage and mitigate these threats, the ministry said. This hackathon will provide a platform for participants to design and implement advanced artificial intelligence models that can increase the effectiveness of cybersecurity measures and combat the increasing sophistication of cybercrime.” The government said that IIT, NIT, we other institutions and Institutions would like to participate in this event.

In the first phase of the competition, participants work individually or in teams to develop an NLP model. Development occurs over an effective period of 20 days. In the second phase, the top 20 teams will be selected for an in-person event in New Delhi. They plan to refine this model using the NCRP dataset to help provide citizens with accurate cybercrime reports. The three best teams advance to the final round. In the final step, the finalists test their solutions in a real environment. The winning team will receive Rs 25 million and a contract to deploy the solution at the center for four years. The hackathon began on October 17th and online submission closed on November 7th. The second round will take place on December 18th and the winner will be announced in January 2025.

Earlier, the ministry had also launched a competition under the IndiaAI Mission to find artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for healthcare, agriculture, climate change and people with special learning disabilities. The ministry will invite interested applicants and the selected companies will be awarded a four-year contract to provide the solution for use by the Center and related organizations for up to Rs 1 billion.