Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday called on governments, technology companies, telecom operators and financial institutions around the world to come together and build a global framework to prevent cyber fraud and tackle the growing threat of deepfakes.
Cyber crime respects no borders
Inaugurating the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi, Modi warned that digital crime had already crossed national boundaries. "Technology achieves scale only when it gains trust. And you all know that cyber fraud and cyber crimes do not respect borders. They have already crossed boundaries," he said.
He pointed to the cross-border nature of such crime: a person sitting in one country, with the help of a fraudster in another country, can commit a crime in a third country. He also flagged how serious a challenge deepfakes have become, saying countries must work together on a global framework for such emerging threats.
A call to the GSMA and global telcos
Modi urged the GSMA, the global body representing mobile operators, and telecom operators worldwide to help create a global mechanism that can stop fraud before it reaches people. India, he said, had gained considerable experience in tackling cyber fraud and was always ready to share its learnings with the world.
He stressed that the security framework around telecom and digital technology needed to be strengthened as mobile phones evolved from communication devices into tools for governance and public services. For an ordinary user, he said, digital trust meant knowing who was calling, whether a message was genuine, whether a payment was safe and whether personal data was secure.
5G and semiconductors
Tracing the evolution of digital connectivity, Modi recalled launching 5G from the same IMC stage in 2022. He said 5G networks, now running from over 5.5 lakh base stations, had reached every district of the country and boosted internet speeds tenfold. On semiconductors, he said India's domestic ecosystem was expanding rapidly, with commercial production already underway at five locations, and the next phase of the India Semiconductor Mission would focus on localising the entire supply chain.
Sources:
- Business Standard: PM Modi calls for creating global framework to prevent fraud, scams
- Financial Express: Modi seeks global mechanism to check cyber fraud, deepfakes
Cyber crime respects no borders
Inaugurating the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 at Yashobhoomi in New Delhi, Modi warned that digital crime had already crossed national boundaries. "Technology achieves scale only when it gains trust. And you all know that cyber fraud and cyber crimes do not respect borders. They have already crossed boundaries," he said.
He pointed to the cross-border nature of such crime: a person sitting in one country, with the help of a fraudster in another country, can commit a crime in a third country. He also flagged how serious a challenge deepfakes have become, saying countries must work together on a global framework for such emerging threats.
A call to the GSMA and global telcos
Modi urged the GSMA, the global body representing mobile operators, and telecom operators worldwide to help create a global mechanism that can stop fraud before it reaches people. India, he said, had gained considerable experience in tackling cyber fraud and was always ready to share its learnings with the world.
He stressed that the security framework around telecom and digital technology needed to be strengthened as mobile phones evolved from communication devices into tools for governance and public services. For an ordinary user, he said, digital trust meant knowing who was calling, whether a message was genuine, whether a payment was safe and whether personal data was secure.
5G and semiconductors
Tracing the evolution of digital connectivity, Modi recalled launching 5G from the same IMC stage in 2022. He said 5G networks, now running from over 5.5 lakh base stations, had reached every district of the country and boosted internet speeds tenfold. On semiconductors, he said India's domestic ecosystem was expanding rapidly, with commercial production already underway at five locations, and the next phase of the India Semiconductor Mission would focus on localising the entire supply chain.
Sources:
- Business Standard: PM Modi calls for creating global framework to prevent fraud, scams
- Financial Express: Modi seeks global mechanism to check cyber fraud, deepfakes
