Business · Companies · 2 hrs ago
India plans tougher standards for protecting banking data
India plans to strengthen safeguards for banking data by updating rules for how encryption keys are protected, stored and transferred.
The Bureau of Indian Standards is preparing the changes to bring the rules in line with the international specification ISO 20038:2026.
Encryption keys are digital codes that help protect sensitive financial information and secure transactions.
The plan comes amid concerns about cyber threats and the possible exposure of State Bank of India customer records.
Banks and financial institutions reported 10,114 fraud cases involving ₹48,021 crore in financial year 2026, even as the number of cases fell from the previous year.
The proposed rules aim to make financial messages easier to exchange and track across different systems by setting common formats and clearer data descriptions.
Banks and other financial service providers would pay for adoption, and the standards will be finalized after consultation with banks and security agencies.
India’s Bureau of Indian Standards plans to update rules for protecting, storing and transferring encryption keys used in banking.
The proposed rules aim to align Indian standards with the revised international specification ISO 20038:2026.
The plan comes amid concerns about financial data security and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
The changes would help banking systems identify, interpret and exchange financial information in a common format.
Financial service providers, including banks, would bear the cost of adopting the new standards.
- Who
- The Bureau of Indian Standards plans the update, according to two government officials.
- What
- India plans to strengthen standards for protecting, storing and transferring banking encryption keys.
- When
- Not stated
- Where
- India.
- Why
- To align Indian standards with international norms and address evolving cybersecurity threats to financial data.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Banks and financial institutions reported 10,114 fraud cases involving ₹48,021 crore, according to the RBI’s Annual Report 2025-26.
Mint reported that the BIS plans to update standards for protecting, storing and transferring encryption keys.
- Standards body
- Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
- International specification
- ISO 20038:2026
- Reported fraud cases in FY26
- 10,114
- Amount involved in FY26 fraud cases
- ₹48,021 crore
- Cost of adoption
- Financial service providers, including banks, will bear the cost
What people are saying
The proposed standards will be adopted after consultations with all stakeholders, including banks and security agencies.
The need for globally aligned encryption standards has grown, as banks increasingly adopt new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI)
Indian standards must be aligned with evolving global best practices, but they cannot simply copy what is followed in Europe or in the US.
We need standards that address India's specific requirements, protect our sovereign interests and ensure that our systems remain interoperable with the global AI ecosystem.