India to fully fund UN global ICT security portal for developing nations

India has committed full funding for a new UN portal on global ICT security. The move aims to strengthen practical cyber capacity-building for developing countries.Image used for representational purposes onlyIndia has said it will fully fund the operationalisation of a United Nations portal for global ICT security, with the aim of helping bridge the capacity gap between developed and developing countries. The announcement was made by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, at the plenary session of the Global Mechanism on ICTs in the Context of International Security.India also said the benefits of digital technology can be fully realised only when backed by strong security and the ability to respond to emerging threats. Harish said scaled, demand-driven capacity-building for the Global South in information and communications technologies is both possible and effective when supported by sustained political will.Harish welcomed the setting up of a Dedicated Thematic Group on cyber capacity-building. The first substantive plenary meeting of the UN’s permanent cyber mechanism, held from July 20 to 24, discussed issues including funding, implementation and fellowships for women as part of efforts to advance a global cyber capacity-building system."It is with particular happiness that my delegation recalls that the proposal for a dedicated Global ICT Security Cooperation and Capacity-Building Portal was originally an Indian initiative, first tabled in 2022," Harish said. "We are pleased to announce today that, having seen this idea through years of deliberation to consensus and eventual adoption, India will be providing the entire funding towards the operationalisation of this Portal as a Portal of the United Nations so that concrete, tangible action can finally follow years of discussion," he said. He said India’s support would help with the technical establishment and maintenance of the portal. The platform is expected to include a repository of resources, a capacity-building calendar, a needs-based catalogue of opportunities and an interactive discussion board. Harish also announced that CERT-In, India’s national agency for responding to computer security incidents, will undertake the technical consultancy work needed for the portal’s testing and infrastructure development."We believe this platform can play a meaningful role in bridging the capacity gap that continues to separate developed and developing States in the domain of ICT security, provided it is treated by all of us as a living tool rather than a static repository," Harish said. Referring to the Global South, he said digital technology has been transformative and has supported economic prosperity and faster progress on the Sustainable Development Goals. Drawing on India’s experience with open and inclusive digital public infrastructure, he said technology’s gains can be secured only with robust safeguards. "This is precisely why India has consistently emphasized that capacity-building cannot be treated as a residual or secondary pillar; it must be targeted, needs-driven, context-specific, politically neutral and transparent," he added. Harish cited the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme, under which India has offered nearly 50,000 fully funded training opportunities to professionals from Global South countries over the past five years. He said these covered nearly 400 courses at more than 100 leading Indian institutions, with a growing share focused on ICT, cyber security, e-governance and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics. "We share this experience to underline that scaled, demand-driven capacity-building for the Global South is both achievable and effective when pursued with sustained political will," he said, adding that India warmly welcomed the new thematic group on cyber capacity-building within the global mechanism.In sum, India told the UN that it will fund and support a new global ICT security portal, while stressing that practical, transparent and needs-based cyber capacity-building is essential for developing countries to fully benefit from digital technology.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 24, 2026 17:02 IST