In short

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held a high-level meeting with bank and insurance CEOs to address rising security concerns amid border tensions
• She directed banks to maintain vigilance, conduct regular audits, and ensure the safety of staff in border areas while facilitating timely customer service.
• The government remains committed to national security and economic stability, urging collaboration among financial institutions and security agencies.

Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, today, called a high-level meeting with Managing Directors/CEOs of Public Sector Banks and Private Sector Banks and insurance companies in the wake of rising security issues due to tensions at the border.

Senior government officials of the Department of Financial Services (DFS), Ministry of Finance, CERT-In, RBI, IRDAI and NPCI were present in the meeting which involved reviewing banking operations' and cyber security readiness of the banking sector, including digital services like internet banking and UPI.

All the banks' and insurance firms' Managing Directors and CEOs updated the Union Finance Minister on actions being taken by them, with tensions at the border continuing to be a threat.

Bank CEOs & MDs reported that their cyber security frameworks have been beefed up all along the banking industry. Banks have installed Anti-DDoS tools to safeguard from colossal cyber-attacks. As a measure of ensuring institutional preparedness, drill sessions have taken place including both cyber security and disaster recovery situations at senior levels.  They cautioned that phishing was under active observation and employees were getting multiple in-house alerts so they are now aware.

Bank officials said that their Security Operations Centre (SOC) and Network Operations Centres are fully functional and are on red alert. These centres are inter-meshed with CERT-In and the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), with real-time sharing of data and threat monitoring.

During the session, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized the key role being played by the banking and financial segment towards maintaining economic stability amid increased geopolitical tensions and trying times.

The Union Finance Minister asked all the banks to stay extremely vigilant and ready to meet any eventuality or crisis so that banking & financial services can continue uninterrupted for people all over the country, particularly in border areas. Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman stated that physical and online banking services have to run uninterrupted and free from glitches, and emergency procedures must be upgraded and simulated to tackle any emerging contingencies.

The Union Finance Minister showed serious concern regarding the security of bank staff and their relatives who work at branches across the border regions and instructed banks to provide their proper security by properly coordinating with the security agencies.

The Finance Minister of the Union requested the banks to take care that the citizens and trade establishments do not suffer at all costs, and utmost importance must be given to uninterrupted availability of cash at ATMs, continued UPI and internet banking operations, and unabated access to basic banking facilities.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman directed banks to conduct regular audits of their cyber security systems and data centres and ensure that all digital and core banking infrastructure is fully firewalled and monitored round the clock to prevent breaches or any hostile cyber activity.

The Union Finance Minister directed that banks reserve two dedicated senior officers identified at the headquarters for reporting all cyber issues and for ensuring operational issues, including the functioning of bank branches and availability of money in ATMs. Both dedicated officers must report any incident to CERT-In  concerned agencies and DFS on a real-time basis.

To this end, banks were also requested to collaborate in real time with the Reserve Bank of India, CERT-In and the concerned Government agencies to ensure strong and agile information exchange and response.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman also instructed insurance companies to settle claims in a timely manner and provide uninterruptible customer service.

The Union Finance Minister stated that the Sponsor Banks must make sure that RRBs are well-supported during these periods and guide them for any problems that they are confronting.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman reaffirmed that the Government of India is strongly committed to national security and economic stability, and stated that the banking and financial system of the country continue to be strong and resilient.