Stressing the need to strengthen cybersecurity in the cooperative banking sector, Kumar Ram Krishna, Director, Ministry of Cooperation, who oversees the cooperative banking subject in the Ministry, on Saturday urged Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) to expedite API integration with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to enable the real-time detection and prevention of cyber fraud.
Addressing the International Day of Cooperatives celebrations organised by NFACUB, Ram Krishna said the Ministry of Cooperation has undertaken several technology-driven reforms over the past five years to modernise the UCB sector.
He said 827 of the country’s 1,458 UCBs have already been onboarded onto the I4C platform, while 16 UCBs are in the advanced stage of API integration. He urged all banks offering internet banking and digital transaction facilities to integrate with NUCFDC’s Unnati Cyber Protection (UNCP) project, which is linked to the I4C platform and enables real-time blocking of cyber frauds at no additional cost.
Ram Krishna also highlighted initiatives to expand the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AePS), encouraged UCBs to become corporate agents of IFFCO Tokio General Insurance, and urged them to enrol as Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) under CGTMSE to facilitate collateral-free lending.
Emphasising NUCFDC’s role as the common technology platform for UCBs, he said it has mobilised Rs 318 crore in share capital commitments. He urged banks to strengthen its capital base, saying this would support NUCFDC’s bid for RBI recognition as a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO), enabling it to play a developmental role for UCBs similar to NABARD.
