Union IT Secretary inaugurates “Cyber Bharat Setu” workshop in Agartala

The Directorate of Information Technology (DIT), Government of Tripura, in collaboration with the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), organized a two-day national cybersecurity exercise titled “Cyber Bharat Setu: Bridging States, Securing Bharat” at Pragya Bhavan, Agartala, on Tuesday. The workshop aims to strengthen cyber awareness, readiness, and response capabilities across the State.

The event was inaugurated by S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, in the presence of J. K. Sinha, Chief Secretary of Tripura; Anurag, Director General of Police; Kiran Gitte, Secretary, IT, Government of Tripura; Dr. Sanjay Bahl, Director General, CERT-In; and Jeya Ragul Geshan. B, Director, Department of Information Technology, along with other distinguished dignitaries.

The workshop focuses on enhancing cyber resilience through expert-led training, hands-on drills, and simulated scenario-based exercises. Participants include Secretaries to the Government of Tripura, Heads of Departments, senior officials, IT Nodal Officers from various State departments and organizations, police officers, bank officials, representatives from technical institutes, and students from universities and colleges.

Officials from CERT-In — Ashutosh Bahuguna, Senior Scientist & Team Lead, Cyber Security Assurance Group; Shashank Gupta, Scientist; and Mohit Kataria, Scientist — conducted insightful sessions and interactive exercises on cybersecurity awareness and crisis management.

The Cyber Bharat Setu initiative envisions a cyber-resilient India by bridging regional cybersecurity capabilities, fostering innovation, and promoting proactive defence and coordinated response strategies. The program emphasizes capacity building, intelligence sharing, and collective efforts to safeguard India’s digital infrastructure, economy, and national security through simulation-based exercises and expert-led discussions.

The inaugural day also marked the launch of the Tripura Cyber Security Policy, 2025 (TCSP 2.0) by Secretary S. Krishnan. The forward-looking and adaptive policy has been formulated to address evolving cyber threats and build a citizen-centric cyber ecosystem. It serves as a guiding framework for securing the State’s IT and ICT systems, strengthening institutional mechanisms, enhancing capacity building, and promoting collaboration across public and private sectors to ensure a safe and resilient cyberspace in Tripura.

Building on the success of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) 2024, Tripura launched the Cyber Security Awareness Month 2025 (TCSAM 2025) campaign during the inaugural session of the workshop. With the theme “Cyber Jagrit Tripura”, the campaign was launched by the Secretary, MeitY, who also unveiled its mascot — “Raksha Mitra” — to extend the initiative’s outreach.

Like the previous year, the TCSAM 2025 campaign will be observed throughout the State with a series of engaging and capacity-building activities organized by the Directorate of IT in collaboration with various stakeholders. The campaign aims to promote cyber hygiene and awareness among citizens, students, and government employees.