Training and preparing cyber commandos is a step towards making Central and state police forces self-reliant to take on cyber threats, Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay said here on Tuesday.

Sahay said in the last few decades, cyber security has become a global challenge, and the police's readiness to face this has become very important, as it has both national and international ramifications.

The DGP was speaking at the launch of a six-month residential course for cyber commandos at Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) in Gandhinagar.

The training course for cyber commandos is being launched at various institutes in the country to equip participants with comprehensive knowledge and advanced skills in aspects of cyber security.

"We (police force), as custodians of the legal framework of this country and of the world at large, need to prepare ourselves for this emerging challenge of cyber threat," Sahay said.

The police forces of states and the Centre have huge a responsibility to understand this challenge, he said.

"The police force needs to be 'atma nirbhar' in preparing itself to take on this challenge, and therefore, there is a need to create cyber commandos," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), Rajesh Kumar, said the training for the first batch of cyber commandos began at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy in Hyderabad on September 2.

I4C, set up by the Ministry of Home Affairs, has designed the course.

"The Prime Minister himself said on January 4, 2023, that we need to have a cyber commando force within the police forces...The idea is to have 5,000 cyber commandos in the next four to five years," Kumar said.

He said to achieve the target, many batches will be trained, both within the RRU and other institutes.

"Many other IITs and IIITs are coming on board to host the programme," Kumar said.

"For long, police forces at the Centre and in states have depended on hired resources to address cybersecurity issues. That was why the prime minister said the arrangement should be made from within," he said.

I4C was set up to create the framework and ecosystem for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrime in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.

RRU Vice Chancellor Bimal Patel said the university is privileged to be among the premier institutions in the country to host the programme.

"On this crucial initiative, cyber commandos training in collaboration with I4C of the MHA, it is imperative that we equip ourselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate the complexities of the digital age," he said.

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