Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has stressed the need for stronger cybersecurity and digital safeguards for urban cooperative banks. Addressing the ‘Sahakar Nav-Kranti’ programme in Mumbai today, Mr Shah said, digital transaction frauds are on the rise and called for stronger forensic support to ensure banking safety. He highlighted the importance of collaboration with the National Forensic Science University, or NFSU, in tackling cyber and financial crimes.
The Home Minister also launched a Security Operations Centre, or SOC, which will provide round-the-clock cyber surveillance and security support to urban cooperative banks. Mr Shah also inaugurated the new office building of the National Urban Co-operative Finance and Development Corporation, NUCFDC, in Mumbai’s Fort area. The initiatives are aimed at strengthening cybersecurity and accelerating the modernisation of India’s urban cooperative banking sector.
Mr Shah urged all cooperative banks to join the National Urban Cooperative Finance and Development Corporation (NUCFDC), the umbrella organisation for cooperative banks in the country. He expressed confidence that the umbrella organisation would transform the urban banking sector by making its services more modern, transparent and trustworthy.
Mr Shah said the capital market alone would not be sufficient to achieve prosperity; a parallel system of self-employment must also be developed, and urban cooperative banks have an important role to play in this regard. He asserted that cooperative banks are not meant merely to generate profits, but to fulfil people’s aspirations. He added that the headquarters of the umbrella organisation would soon be shifted from Delhi to Maharashtra, as Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and Karnataka together account for 70 per cent of India’s urban cooperative banks.
The NUCFDC and the National Forensic Sciences University signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of Mr Shah. He also launched the ‘Bank In A Box’ initiative along with several related services. Mr Shah also launched a coffee table book, and felicitated representatives of six cooperative banks at the programme.
