‘Wars no longer fought with weapons alone’: PM Modi flags cyber security threats

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cautioned on Sunday that modern conflicts extend beyond conventional warfare, asserting that nations can be weakened through attacks on their economies. While inaugurating the RBI Data Centre and Cybersecurity Training Institute in Bhubaneswar, Modi emphasized the critical need to safeguard India's banking system against 'cyber terrorists' and other emerging challenges.

He pointed out that the nature of cyber threats had rapidly evolved, necessitating modern infrastructure and skilled personnel to effectively combat these threats.

Modi highlighted that the prior decade focused on extending banking services to marginalized populations, while the upcoming decade would concentrate on enhancing banking efficiency and trustworthiness. This required robust data centers and advanced computing systems to support these objectives. He also criticized the Congress party's handling of the banking sector, alleging that their policies had led to a banking system on the brink of collapse due to a mounting non-performing assets (NPA) crisis.

Modi recounted the "phone banking" era before 2014, where influential individuals connected to Congress leaders could secure large bank loans through phone calls, a luxury unavailable to the middle class who often required guarantors to open bank accounts. He argued that this mismanagement had pushed India's banking system to the verge of collapse, leaving many families deprived of banking access for decades.

Turning to Indira Gandhi's bank nationalization program, Modi criticized it as a failure, noting that despite the program's intentions, more than half of the population remained outside the banking ecosystem until 2014. He contrasted this with the present government's approach, where every rupee sent from Delhi directly reaches the beneficiary's bank account through nearly 60 crore Jan Dhan accounts, ensuring full transparency and efficiency.

Modiji's remarks underscore the importance of balanced development across India, ensuring that even the most remote areas benefit from growth and connectivity.