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Winners of 'Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0' bag total prize pool of Rs. 6.85 Cr

Published: Feb 27, 2026

By TIOLCorplaws News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 27, 2026: S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), yesterday felicitated the winners of the ‘Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0' (CSGC 2.0), a flagship initiative of MeitY implemented in association with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI). The initiative aims to strengthen the nation's cyber security capabilities and build expertise in critical technology domains to support a secure and resilient digital ecosystem.

The Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0 carried a combined prize pool of Rs. 6.85 crore, making it one of the most significant government-backed cyber security innovation challenges in the country. The winners of the Grand Challenge 2.0 were awarded with trophies and cash prize of Rs. 1 crore to the winner, while the 1 st and 2 nd Runners-up received Rs. 50 lakh and Rs. 25 lakh respectively.

The winners along with the problem statements addressed by them are:

Launched in January 2025, the Cyber Security Grand Challenge hosted on MyGov Platform stands as a testament to the commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship within our nation by incentivizing innovation in six critical domains: API Security, Data Security, Wearable Device Security and Privacy, Clone and Fake App Mitigation, AI for Threat Detection and Incident Response, and Securing Next-Generation Biometric Systems. A unique feature of the initiative remains that the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) of the developed solutions are owned by the respective start-ups.

The Challenge was conducted in four structured stages with progressive evaluation and financial support at each level. At the Idea Stage, six start-ups were shortlisted under each problem statement, making a total of 36 start-ups, and each was awarded Rs. 5 lakh to further develop and refine their solutions. During the Minimum Viable Product stage, these start-ups received structured technical and business mentorship to build functional prototypes, following which 18 start-ups, three under each problem statement, advanced to the Final Product Stage and were awarded Rs. 10 lakh each. At this stage, the solutions were tested and validated, leading to the selection of five start-ups that were awarded Rs. 25 lakh each. In the final Go-to-Market Stage, start-ups were evaluated on commercial readiness, scalability and market potential, and three start-ups were declared Grand Winners. Throughout the Challenge, participating start-ups received continuous technical and business mentorship to strengthen product maturity, deployability and market readiness.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, said, “The Cyber Security Grand Challenge 2.0 is an important step towards building strong indigenous cyber security capacity in the country. Cyber security is one area where domestic capability is of utmost importance. Indigenisation in cyber security is critical, as the security challenges we face are real and evolving, and we must be prepared with solutions developed within our own ecosystem.

The Challenge has followed a rigorous evaluation process, and it is encouraging to see extensive participation, including student-led teams, start-ups, and women-led enterprises. The problem statements were carefully curated and highly relevant to today's data-driven economy, where increased data sharing through mechanisms such as APIs must be accompanied by strong data security and privacy safeguards. This initiative is an opportunity to continue building long-term domestic capacity, and we must sustain this momentum going forward. MeitY remains committed to advancing indigenisation in cyber security and strengthening institutional and ecosystem capacity through sustained collaboration.”

For all information around the challenge, visit: https://innovateindia.mygov.in/cyber-security-grand-challenge/