The payments network operator and research institute will develop joint security research, specialist training and cyber capability-building programmes as transaction volumes and threats rise.
India’s digital payments network is set for a new push into cyber defence after the National Payments Corporation of India signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad to develop research, training and capability-building programmes aimed at strengthening the security of the country’s fast-growing payment ecosystem.
The pact links the operator of UPI and other national payment rails with a leading technology research institute at a time when transaction volumes continue to surge and the risks around fraud, social engineering and infrastructure attacks are rising with them. According to the announcement from IIIT-Hyderabad, the collaboration will cover joint research and development, specialist training, knowledge-sharing and broader capacity building focused on making payment systems more resilient.
At IIIT-Hyderabad, the work will be led through the Cyber Manthan Centre, which focuses on cybersecurity, digital forensics and trusted infrastructure. The institute said Director Sandeep K. Shukla will oversee its role in the partnership. The signing ceremony in Hyderabad was attended by NPCI managing director and chief executive Dilip Asbe, Shukla and Cyber Manthan chief operating officer Mridul Chamoli.
The institutions said their priorities include practical research on payment security, exploration of how emerging technologies can be used to strengthen digital transactions, and industry-oriented learning to help build a larger pool of cyber-skilled professionals. Asbe said the pace of growth in digital payments requires constant innovation, trained talent and readiness for new threats, while Shukla said the partnership would give researchers and students a chance to study the specific security challenges facing next-generation payment systems.
The agreement also speaks to a wider problem in financial services: the shortage of cybersecurity specialists who understand payments in enough depth to protect them effectively. By linking live payments experience with academic research, NPCI and IIIT-Hyderabad are betting that skills and applied knowledge will matter as much as technology in safeguarding a system that handles billions of transactions each month.
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