DSCI Excellence Awards 2024

Honouring stellar work in cyber security and privacy

NOMINATE FOR

Corporate Segment | Product Segment

Nominations closed

Corporate Segment
Product Segment
Law Enforcement Segment
Awards Process
Why Nominate?
Important Dates
Nomination FAQs
Awards Partners
Corporate Segment
Objective

Recognition & Honour: Recognize, honour and reward organizations and individuals who have taken strategic, proactive and innovative security and privacy efforts to help the organization address real risks, build resilience, increase trustworthiness and create a conducive environment for doing business and thus enable the organization to harness data protection as a lever for business growth.

Elevate the role of Security function: Highlight the importance of security function and its contribution in the overall business ecosystem of an organization.

Awareness and knowledge: Bring about awareness towards the need for information security and privacy within organizations and society at large.

Winners
DSCI Excellence Award for Best Security Practices in Organization
Energy Sector
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC)
Critical Information Infrastructure
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Automobile & Manufacturing Sector
Gujarat Flurochemicals
Banking Sector
State Bank of India
NBFC and Small & Medium Financial Banks
Suryoday Small Finance Bank Ltd.
IT-ITeS Sector (Large)
EXL Service
IT-ITeS Sector (Medium/Small)
Nagarro
Global Capability Centers
Providence India
Digital Plus Organizations
TATA Play
DSCI Excellence Award for Industry leaders
Security Leader of the Year
Dhananjay Khanna

Senior Vice President - CISO, SBI Cards 
(BFSI)

Rajesh Kumar

Senior Vice President, EXL Service 
(IT & ITeS)

Baidyanath

CISO & DPO, JK Lakshmi Cement 
(Manufacturing)

Ali Kashif Khan

Global Director (IT Risk Governance), ZS Associates 
(GCC)

Sandeep Khanna

CISO, UIDAI (Central Government Body) 
(Government)

Sanjay Kumar Das

Member Secretary, Department of IT & Electronics, Government of West Bengal (State Government Body) 
(Government)

Women Security Leader of the Year
Sukla Mukhopadhya

General Manager Information Systems, CISO, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (HPCL)

Privacy Leader of the Year
Jagannath Pakala

Global DPO, LTIMindtree Ltd.

Sridhar Goverdhan

SVP, Head of Information Security and Data Privacy, Neblio Technologies Private Limited

DSCI Excellence Award for Best Privacy Practices in Organization
Data Fiduciaries
Biocon Biologics
Data Processor
Seamex Aditya Birla Group
DSCI Excellence Award for Best Cyber Security Services Company
Indian Geography
SISA Information Security Pvt. Ltd.
DSCI Excellence Award for Best Security Practices for Cyber Security Evangelists
Academic Research
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Education
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Special Jury Recognition Award Categories
Gaurav Duggal, Senior Vice President, Jio Platforms

Security Leader of the Year - Telecom

NHPC Ltd.

Best Security Practices in Energy Sector

HDFC Securities Ltd.

Best Security Practices in Capital Markets

Philips Innovation Campus

Best Security Practices in Global Capability Centers

 
Finalists

Following are the finalists in different categories, listed in alphabetical order.

Best Security Practices in Energy Sector
  • Adani Power Ltd
  • Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd
  • NHPC Ltd
  • ONGC Ltd
Best Security Practices in Critical Information Infrastructure
  • Adani Enterprises Ltd
  • Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Dept. of Atomic Energy, Govt. of India
  • UIDAI
Best Security Practices in Automobile & Manufacturing Sector
  • Continental Automotive Components India Ltd
  • Granules India
  • Gujrat Flurochemicals
  • Nestle
Best Security Practices in Digital Plus Organizations
  • IKEA
  • TATA Play
Best Security Practices in Banking Sector
  • Bank of India
  • Canara Bank
  • State Bank of India
Best Security Practices in NBFC and Small & Medium Financial Banks
  • SBI Cards & Payment Services Ltd
  • Suryoday Small Finance Bank Ltd
  • Ujjivan Small Finance Bank
Best Security Practices in IT-ITeS Sector (Large)
  • Birlasoft
  • EXL Service
  • Infosys Limited
  • Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
Best Security Practices in IT-ITeS Sector (Medium/Small)
  • AGS Health
  • eClerx Services Ltd
  • Hughes Systique Pvt Ltd
  • Nagarro
Best Security Practices in Global Capability Centers
  • Barclays Global Services
  • Philips Innovation Campus
  • Providence India
  • TIAA GC

Best Privacy Practices in Data Processors
  • Fractal Analytics Pvt Ltd
  • LTIMindtree Ltd
  • Seamex Aditya Birla Group
  • Tata Consultancy Services Ltd
Best Privacy Practices by Data Fiduciaries
  • Birlasoft
  • Biocon Biologics
  • Federal Bank
  • Seamex Aditya Birla Group

Best Cyber Security Evangelist in Education
  • IIT Kanpur
  • REVA University
  • VIT-AP University
Cyber Security Academic Research
  • IIT Kanpur
  • PES University
  • VIT-AP University

Best Cyber Security Services in Indian Geography
  • Aujas Cybersecurity Ltd
  • eSec Forte Technologies Private Ltd
  • Inspira Enterprise Private Ltd
  • SISA

Security Leader of the Year

BFSI

  • Atul Kumar Singh, CISO, Bank of Maharashtra
  • Dhananjay Khanna, Senior Vice President – CISO, SBI Cards
  • Kuldeep Pal, DGM & CISO, Bank of India
  • Ramesh Babu A, CISO, Canara Bank


IT & ITeS

  • Rajesh Kumar, Senior Vice President, EXL Service
  • Sanjay Krishnan, Head of Information Security Group, Infosys
  • Sanjeev Singh, CISO and DPO, Birlasoft


Telecom

  • Gaurav Duggal, Senior Vice President, Jio Platforms
  • Manoj Gupta, Head - IS & Infra (CISO), Indus Towers


Manufacturing

  • Baidyanath, CISO & DPO, JK Lakshmi Cement
  • Dinesh Kumar Shrimali, CISO & DPO, Tata Steel
  • Dr. Yusuf Ashfaq Hashmi, CISO, Jubilant Bhartia


GCC

  • Ali Kashif Khan, Global Director (IT Risk Governance), ZS Associates
  • Visagan Subburayalu, Vice President - Cyber and Infrastructure, Target


Government

  • Sandeep Khanna, CISO, UIDAI (Central Government Body)
  • Sanjay Kumar Das, Member Secretary, Department of IT & Electronics, Government of West Bengal (State Government Body)
Privacy Leader of the Year
  • Abha Tiwari, DPO, Tata Singapore Airlines (Vistara)
  • Jagannath Pakala, Global DPO, LTIMindtree Ltd
  • Sridhar Goverdhan, SVP, Head of Information Security and Data Privacy, Neblio Technologies Private Ltd
Women Security Leader of the Year
  • Mompia Saha, Vice President, EXL Service
  • Sukla Mukhopadhya, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), General Manager, Information Systems, CISO
  • Vidya Jayaraman, Executive Director, AGS Health

  • Best Security Practices in Capital Markets
  • Best Security Practices in Insurance Sector
 
Jury for the Awards
Mr. Bhuvnesh Kumar

Additional Secretary, Meity

Mr. Narendra Nath

Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat

Ms. Praveena Rai

MD & CEO, MCX

Ms. Rama Vedashree

Former CEO, DSCI

Ms. Vidya Srinivasan

SVP-Infrastructure and Risk, Genpact

Mr. VK Chaudhary

Chief Information Officer, ONGC

 
Awards Categories
Category 1: Best Security Practices in Organization
  • Best Security Practices in Energy Sector
  • Best Security Practices in Critical Information Infrastructure
  • Best Security Practices in Automobile & Manufacturing Sector
  • Best Security Practices in Digital Plus Organizations
  • Best Security Practices in Insurance Sector
  • Best Security Practices in Banking Sector
  • Best Security Practices in Capital Markets
  • Best Security Practices in IT- ITeS Sector
  • Best Security Practices in Global Capabilities Sector
  • Best Security Practices in NBFC and Small or Medium Financial Banks
Category 2: Industry Leaders of the Year
  • Security Leader of the Year
  • Privacy Leader of the Year
  • Women Security Leader of the Year
Category 3: Best Privacy Practices in Organization
  • Best Privacy Practices in Data Processors
  • Best Privacy Practices in Data Fiduciaries
Category 4: Best Cyber Security Services Company
  • Best Cyber Security Services in Indian Geography
Category 5: Best Security Practices for Cyber Security Evangelists
  • Cyber Security Education
  • Cyber Security Academic Research
 
S.no.Jury NameCurrent RoleAward Category
1Mr. Bhuvnesh KumarAdditional Secretary, MeitYBest Security Practices in Organization Best Privacy Practices in Organization Best Security Practices for Cyber Security Evangelists
2Mr. Narendra NathJoint Secretary, National Security Council SecretariatBest Security Practices in Organization Best Privacy Practices in Organization Best Cyber Security Services Company Industry Leaders of the Year Best Security Practices for Cyber Security Evangelists
3Ms. Praveena RaiMD & CEO, MCXBest Security Practices in Organization Best Privacy Practices in Organization
4Ms. Rama VedashreeFormer CEO, Data Security Council of IndiaBest Security Practices in Organization Best Privacy Practices in Organization Best Cyber Security Services Company Industry Leaders of the Year Best Security Practices for Cyber Security Evangelists
5Ms. Vidya SrinivasanSVP-Infrastructure and Risk, GenpactIndustry Leaders of the Year
6Mr. VK ChaudharyChief Information Officer, ONGCIndustry Leaders of the Year Best Cyber Security Services Company
 
Nomination Guide

Please refer to this guide before submitting nominations. We have changed the nomination process and portal. This guide will help you to smoothly navigate through the nomination process. Also, please carefully read the “Confidentiality & Privacy Statement and Guidelines” on the portal before proceeding.

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Eligibility Criteria

Best Security Practices in Energy Sector

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be an energy sector organization operating in India (Petroleum, Oil & Gas, Power - Coal, Nuclear, Renewable sources of energy (Hydro, Solar, wind, etc.)), and directly working in generation, transmission, or distribution of energy.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.

Not Eligible for this category

  • Organizations which may act as the supplier for the companies working in this sector or may indirectly work to enable the companies working in this sector are not eligible in this category.
Best Security Practices in Critical Information Infrastructure

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be an organization providing services in the following sectors from the critical infrastructure sectors identified by National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) –
    • Telecom
    • Transport
    • Strategic & Public Enterprises
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.

Not Eligible for this category

Applicants belonging to the below mentioned sectors are not eligible for this category and must apply in their respective categories (separate categories have been defined for these as part of the Awards). Duplicate submission is not allowed.

  • Banking
  • Insurance
  • Power & Energy sector
  • Financial Services (NBFCs)
Best Security Practices in Automobile and Manufacturing Sector

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be an Automobile or any Manufacturing sector public/private organization in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of five years in India.
  • Applicant should have the manufacturing plants/facilities based in India.
  • The products manufactured by the applicant should be consumed at least in the Indian Market.
Best Security Practices in Digital Plus Organizations

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a registered organization in India providing aggregator/platform services for delivery, e-commerce, online shopping etc.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been providing services in India for a minimum of five years.
Best Security Practices in Insurance Sector

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be an insurance company (Private or Public Sector) operating in India, providing insurance services and registered with Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI).
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.

Not Eligible for this category

  • Companies which are not providing insurance policies and are only supporting the companies that provide insurance policies are not eligible.
Best Security Practices in Banking Sector

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a banking company operating in India and should be a Private Sector Bank or Public Sector Banks or Payments Banks (PB) as declared by Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.
Best Security Practices in Capital Markets

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a capital market company registered in India, providing services such as buying/selling of stocks, bonds, currencies, and other financial assets, regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.
Best Security Practices in NBFC and Small or Medium Financial Banks

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) as declared by RBI and should be operating in India.
  • Applicant must be a Small Finance Bank (SFB)/ Regional Rural Bank (RRB)/ Local Area Bank (LAB)/ State Cooperative Banks (StCBs)/ District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) declared by RBI/ NABARD and should be operating in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.
Best Security Practices in IT-ITeS Sector

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be an organization from IT-ITeS sector operating in India.
  • Applicant would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.
Best Security Practices in Small & Medium Financial Banks

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a Small Finance Bank (SFB)/ Regional Rural Bank (RRB)/ Local Area Bank (LAB)/ State Cooperative Banks (StCBs)/ District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) declared by RBI/ NABARD and should be operating in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.
Best Security Practices in Government Sector

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a Ministry or Department of Central or State government, a Central Government entity, a State Government entity or a statutory body set up by the Government of India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.
Best Security Practices in Global Capability Centers

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a Global Capability Centre operating in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.

Security Leader of the Year

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Individual must have been performing leadership roles (full-time) in security for an organization as a CISO/ CSO/ VP/ Director/ Security head or equivalent.
  • Individuals nominating for ‘Privacy Leader of the Year’ or ‘Women Security Leader of the Year’ category cannot nominate in this category.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
Woman Security Leader of the Year

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Women practitioners in cyber security working for an organization as a CISO/ Security Specialist/CSO/ VP/ Director/ Security head or equivalent.
  • Individuals nominating for ‘Privacy Leader of the Year’ or ‘Security Leader of the Year’ category cannot nominate in this category.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
Privacy Leader of the Year

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Individual must be in a leadership role in privacy.
  • Individual should be from private or public sector in India.
  • Individual for whom privacy management comprises at least 25% of his / her role.
  • Individuals nominating for ‘Security Leader of the Year’ or ‘Women Security Leader of the Year’ category cannot nominate in this category.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.

Best Privacy Practices by Data Fiduciaries

Eligibility Criteria:

  • The applicant must be an organization or entity that handles and processes personal data of individuals or entities as a part of its core operations.
  • The applicant should have been operating as a data fiduciary for a minimum of one year in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
Best Privacy Practices by Data Processors

Eligibility Criteria:

  • The applicant must be an organization or entity that processes personal data on behalf of data controllers/data fiduciary as part of its core services.
  • The applicant should have been operating as a data processor for a minimum of one year in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.

Best Cyber Security Services Company of the Year in Indian Geography

Eligibility Criteria:

  • The applicant must be a cyber security services company operating in India and providing cyber security services to organizations primarily in India.
  • Application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more nominations.
  • Applicant must have been operating for a minimum of one year in India.

Not Eligible for this category

  • Applicants with security product as a service are not eligible to apply to this category as separate category is provided for the same.

Cyber Security Education

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a recognized university/college/institute and should have been offering cyber security/ information security course/degree approved/accredited by any central/state/deemed university in India.
  • The course/degree should be functional for at least two years.
  • Your application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more different nominations.

Not Eligible for this category

  • Organizations providing cyber security training or certifications are not eligible.
Best Cyber Security Evangelist in Academic Research

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Applicant must be a recognized university/college/institute involved in research and development of cybersecurity technologies in India.
  • The cybersecurity research program should be functional for-at least two years.
  • Your application would be eligible for evaluation only if this award category receives 3 or more different nominations.

Not Eligible for this category

  • Private companies involved in R&D of cybersecurity technologies are not eligible.
Product Segment
Winners
Product Company of the Year
Accops Systems Pvt. Ltd
Innovation Box - The Most Innovative Product of the Year
Aurva
 
Finalists

Following are the finalists in different categories, listed in alphabetical order.

  • Accops Systems Pvt. Ltd.
  • SISA Information Security Pvt. Ltd.
  • Zeron

Shortlisted

  • Aurva
  • Cyberstanc
  • Cy5 Pvt. Ltd.
  • SecureDApp
  • WhizHack Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
 
Jury for Product Company of the Year
Mr. Amit Singhal

Founding Partner, Fluid Ventures

Dr. Sanjay Bahl

DG, CERT-In

Mr. Shyam Penumaka

Partner, Dallas Venture Capital

Mr. Suhas Devaraju

SVP, Digital Strategy and Innovation, Value Creation Group

 
Jury for Innovation Box
Mr. Rajesh Thapar

CISO, NSE

Mr. Shyam Penumaka

Partner, Dallas Venture Capital

Mr. Som Pal Choudhury

Co-Founder & Partner, Bharat Innovation Fund

 
Evaluation Process

The Indian industry is riding high on the wave of entrepreneurial traction in the niche domain of cyber security and security product development with numerous security product companies emerging in the last few years. Though, currently at a nascent stage, these organizations are enjoying robust sales traction and moving forward with the concern of being recognized in the global world.

In order to provide impetus to the growth of Indian cyber security market, DSCI, is working towards contributing and building a favorable ecosystem for growth-led, sustainable business segments of security product & services companies in the country. Many initiatives and activities have been undertaken by DSCI to encourage indigenous product development, proving platform to the start-ups to connect with the key stakeholders of the ecosystem. With an intent to provide more impetus to these organizations, DSCI has launched Excellence awards for Product companies, which is comprised of two categories ‘Product Company of the Year’ and ‘Innovation Box - Most Innovative Product of the Year’.

The objective of this initiative is to recognize, honor and reward organizations who come up with innovative product ideas, and emerging companies to address real risks, build resilience, increase trustworthiness and create a conducive environment for businesses; thus, enabling organizations harness security as a lever for business growth.

The initiative is an attempt to provide support to product companies in various aspects by bringing these new players nearer to established security leaders, innovators other stakeholders on a common platform for idea sharing, guidance and collaboration.

 
Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria:

  • An organization which has developed Information Security Product(s) can apply.
  • The organization should be incorporated as a private limited company (as defined in the Companies Act, 2013) or registered as a partnership firm (registered under section 59 of the Partnership Act, 1932) or a limited liability partnership (under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008) in India.
  • Product (mentioned in the nomination form) should be designed and developed in India.
  • IPR/Patents, if any, should be owned by the Indian entity.
  • An organization that has won this award (DSCI) earlier is not eligible to apply.
  • A Company nominating any product for ‘DSCI Innovation Box’ category in this year cannot nominate in this category.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Innovative Security/Privacy Products which should not have violated/breached/ copied any idea/ concept/product already copyright or patent can be nominated.
  • The organization should be incorporated as a private limited company (as defined in the Companies Act, 2013) or registered as a partnership firm (registered under section 59 of the Partnership Act, 1932) or a limited liability partnership (under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008) in India.
  • Organization nominating in Innovation Box should have an annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 25 crores for any of the financial years since its incorporation.
  • Organization nominating in Innovation Box should be in existence and operations for less than 5 years from the Date - 30 August 2024.
  • The product should have been designed and developed in India.
  • For the nominated products if there is any IPR/Patents registered, it should be owned by the Indian entity.
  • An organization that has won this award earlier is not eligible to apply.
Law Enforcement Segment
Objective
  • India Cyber Cop of the Year: To recognize and honour a police officer who has done the most outstanding work in investigating a cybercrime case.
  • Excellence in Capacity Building of Law Enforcement Agencies: To recognize and honour a state police/police agency for the efforts made in overall capacity building through workforce development, investigation and digital forensics capability development, skill enhancement through trainings & workshops, etc.
  • Excellence in Capacity Building in Cybercrimes, Cyber laws & Digital Forensics by Academia: To recognize the efforts made by Academic Institutions in overall capacity building through in-house faculty members or collaborating with other agencies to develop & enhance the digital forensics capabilities & skill enhancement through training & workshops.
  • Award for Pioneering Digital Forensics Capabilities by Government Institutions: To recognize the efforts made by government forensic laboratories that have made significant strides in building or leveraging advanced digital forensic tools & techniques for digital investigations and contribute to the overall capability building in the field of digital forensics.
Winners
Category 1: India Cyber Cop of the Year
Smt. Neetu Kunsariya

Police Inspector, Cyber & Hi-tech Crime Police Station, State Cyber Police Headquarters, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

Category 2: Excellence in Capacity Building of Law Enforcement Agencies
Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, Telangana Police
Category 3: Excellence in Capacity Building in Cybercrimes, Cyber Laws & Digital Forensics by Academia
National Forensics Sciences University (NFSU), Gujarat
Category 4: Award for Pioneering Digital Forensics Capabilities by Government Institutions
State Forensic Science Laboratory, Madivala, Bengaluru
 
Finalists

Following are the finalists in different categories, listed in alphabetical order.

  • Sh. Hazaresh A Killedar, Police Inspector, Cyber Crime Police Station, Bengaluru City
  • Sh. Katkam Srinivas, Police Inspector, Cybercrime Police Station, Cyberabad, Telangana
  • Smt. Neetu Kunsariya, Police Inspector, Cyber & Hi-tech Crime Police Station, State Cyber Police Headquarters, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh

  • Bhopal - State Cyber HQ
  • Cyberabad Police Commissionerate, Telangana Police
  • Gandhinagar - State Cyber Crime Cell CID Crime

  • National Forensics Science University (NFSU), Gujarat
  • National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), New Delhi
  • Rajiv Gandhi National Cyber Law Centre, Bhopal
  • Rashtriya Raksha University, Gujarat

  • National Forensics Sciences University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
  • State Forensic Science Laboratory, Madivala, Bengaluru
  • State Forensic Science Laboratory, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala
 
Jury For The Awards
Mr. Pratap Reddy IPS

Former Director General of Police, Internal Security Division, Karnataka

Mr. Vakul Sharma

Advocate, Supreme Court

Mr. S. K. Bhalla

Deputy Director General (DDG), (Security) North East LSA, DoT, Shillong

Mr. Krishna Sastry Pendyala

Partner at Ernst & Young (Former Scientist, GEQD)

 
Award Categories
Category 1: India Cyber Cop of the Year
Category 2: Excellence in Capacity Building of Law Enforcement Agencies
Category 3: Excellence in Capacity Building in Cybercrimes, Cyber laws & Digital Forensics by Academia
Category 4: Award for Pioneering Digital Forensics Capabilities by Government Institutions
 
Eligibility Criteria

India Cyber Cop of the Year.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Each state police organization/investigation agency can send a maximum of five entries (cases). Self-nominations are also accepted provided they are endorsed and sent through the proper channel of the state police/ investigation agency thereby ensuring that not more than five entries are received from a state/agency.
  • Only one officer should be nominated for each nomination, i.e., a state /investigation agency can nominate only 5 officers for five different cases.
  • Investigation done by any state police organization in the country, including the city police, National Investigation Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, etc. will be considered.
  • Cases should be of importance or sensitive nature:
    • Cases which have the potential to impact the usage of Information Technology strategically by central & state governments, industry/industries, or services availed by citizens (including impact on the adoption of e-governance applications/ E-Commerce/social media by Governments/Organisations/citizens).
    • or those which have caused public concern / created curiosity amongst the common citizen(s).
  • The investigating team should have made use of electronic and technology-based tools to solve the case.
  • Cases investigated & finalized without invoking IT Act, 2000 (Amended 2008) will NOT be considered for the award evaluation process.
  • Cases in which investigation is completed, and Final Report is submitted to the court or those closed for other reasons, during the period - 24th September 2023 to 23rd September 2024 - will be considered, irrespective of the year of registration. However, due weightage will be given for speedy and expeditious investigation. Also, the cases that were investigated effectively within the limits of available resources. Cases ended up with Conviction during the above period may also be nominated.
  • No under-investigation cases should be sent for nomination.
  • Since investigation is a team effort, organizations must nominate one person representing the team (of and above the rank of Police Inspector), who has participated in the investigation, and who has contributed critically and substantially to the success of the investigation. The entry should clearly bring out the role played by the officer nominated. Officers associated with the investigation in a supervisory or advisory capacity should not be nominated for the Award.

Excellence in Capacity Building of Law Enforcement Agencies

Eligibility Criteria:

The nomination must only be sent by State / UT Police (eg., Karnataka Police, Haryana Police, Chandigarh Police, etc.) or City Commissionerate (eg., Pune police, Kolkata Police) or Investigation/intelligence Agencies working under State/central government (eg., CBI, NIA, Income tax department, etc.) or state/central police training academies.

Excellence in Capacity Building in Cybercrimes, Cyber laws & Digital Forensics by Academia.

Eligibility Criteria:

  • Any Academia/University/Institution/College include affiliation with recognized higher education accreditation bodies in India, such as NAAC, NBA, BCI, MCI, DCI, PCI, UGC, AICTE and other autonomous bodies under the Government of India (IIT, NIT etc.,).
  • Any Academia/University/Institution/College situated in India that offers special courses & organizes programs on Cybercrimes, Cyber Law & Digital Forensics.

Award for Pioneering Digital Forensics Capabilities by Government Institutions.

Eligibility Criteria:

Any Government forensic laboratory providing digital forensics services to law enforcement and other institutions. The laboratory should be recognized under the a. Indian Evidence Act & CrPC or b. Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 and BNSS 2023 or c. Information Technology, 2000.

 
Awards Process
Corporate Segment

Nominations for corporate and product segment in DSCI Excellence Awards 2024 will be online. Consolidation of all nomination forms and other information received from various organizations will be done by DSCI and our process partner PwC.

The evaluation process for DSCI Excellence Awards 2024 will be as follows:

Level
I
DSCI and PwC will conduct the first level of screening after receiving nominations based on the quality and completeness of the responses provided in the respective nomination forms.
Level
II
DSCI and PwC may seek additional information / artefacts from shortlisted nominations and if required, may also conduct interviews and subsequently shortlist three finalists in each category.
Level
III
The jury will evaluate the finalists and decide the winner in each category
 
Innovation Box

Evaluation Process

Level
I
DSCI and award’s Process Partner will do first level of screening after receiving the nominations based on the quality and completeness of the responses provided in the respective nomination forms.
Level
II
DSCI and Process Partner may seek additional information / artefacts from the shortlisted nominations and if required, may also conduct interviews and subsequently shortlist finalists.
Level
III
The winner will be identified based on the Jury evaluation coupled with the votes from audience based on the presentation by shortlisted contestants during the Innovation Box challenge at AISS 2024. A weighted marking scheme would be used to compute the final scores to identify the winner.

Please find below the weightage scheme:

Panel Scores (70%)
+
Audience Poll(30%)
=
Winner
Why Nominate?

Because you have nothing to lose but a lot to gain!

Appreciation and Recognition works as a catalyst which inspires us to perform better and push our boundaries to attain even better heights. Grab this opportunity to be known among the diversified cyber security fraternity and get opportunities galore!

Recognition:

Gain recognition in the Industry and the larger Security & Privacy community

Opportunity:

Join the league of industry leaders who have won the awards in previous editions

Competitive edge:

Outshine your peers by validation from experts*

Trust:

Enhance the ‘Trust’ factor to make clients feel secure about the level of service expected

Outreach:

Build a prospective customer base with the Excellence Awards symbolizing the extent of your potential

Credibility:

Start-ups find it challenging to establish recognition and credibility in the marketplace early; DSCI Excellence Awards can help overcome the first barrier

Motivation:

Worked hard on products or solutions? Help lift team morale by gaining recognition for combined efforts

Overall, it’s a great experience – be a part of this learning and derive immense value.

*Organizations and Individuals compete against other nominees in their specific category

Important Dates
Opening calls for Nomination
25th September 2024
Last date of submission
6th November 2024
Jury Briefing
To be announced
Excellence Awards Ceremony
6th December 2024
Nomination FAQs

Corresponding eligibility criteria are mentioned in each category. Applicants are requested to carefully read the eligibility criteria before filling the application for respective category.

Yes, an organization or an individual can send their nominations for this year as well even if participated or won in the previous years. (Except explicitly mention in the particular eligibility criteria)

Yes, the categories have been revised this year. Few categories have been eliminated, few remain same, and few others have been newly introduced. We recommend that you take a few minutes to explore all the categories and their eligibility criteria for this year to understand in which category you may apply.

Applying for all the categories in the corporate segment are online.

Once the nomination window is active, a link on DSCI website can be found where individuals would have to register themselves and select the categories they want to apply for in Awards 2024. After submitting their interest, they will be able to download the nomination forms of the categories they applied for. The downloaded nomination forms can then be filled offline, since they will be in MS Word editable format.

After successfully filling in the nomination forms, the filled forms can be uploaded on a provided link (present on DSCI website) and will then be evaluated. On successful submission, the nominator/ nominee will receive a confirmation email on the email provided in the details asked on submission webpage

Your nomination will be discarded and the details which were provided during registration and downloading of the form would be erased from the database after the submission window is closed. Request you to please submit your filled nomination forms before the last date.

In the downloaded nomination forms, there is a provision for attaching the required documents. Request you to please use the space provided in nomination form itself and don’t attach supporting artefacts during or on the submission link.

Guidelines for attaching the documents, wherever required, is mentioned at the same place. Please read the guidelines carefully before attaching and/or uploading the documents.

We request the respondents to limit their responses to the prescribed word limit. Keeping the answers succinct makes it easier for the evaluators. The evaluators reserve the right to discard any information that stretches beyond word limit.

There would be both objective as well as subjective questions.

No question in the form is mandatory to answer. The nominator has full right and choice to answer or skip any of the questions. Though, during evaluation one can lose on some points if their competitor has given the answer to a particular question and they have not! Some questions in the nomination forms might not carry any weightage and could be for informational purpose only.

The awards are open for all organizations and individuals who are eligible to participate as per the eligibility criteria mentioned for each category. Its not necessary for the Organizations applying for the Awards in the corporate segment to be a DSCI Corporate Member. Contact awards team at awards@dsci.in for more details

Kindly note that there is no fee to apply for any of the Award categories.

Each award category has different parameters for evaluation. These parameters will be used to shortlist the finalist and ultimately, to decide the winner. These parameters have been decided using prior experience and consultation. However, these will not be made public.

Nomination forms for corporate segment can only be submitted online on the submission link provided on DSCI website, whereas for LEA segment one will need to submit the duly filled nomination form through e-mail to awards@dsci.in in either word or pdf format or send hard copies to DSCI office address.

Resubmitting your nomination form is not suggested as if duplicate nomination forms with the same name are received, the form submitted first will be considered for evaluation. It is recommended that organizations separately send updated information and artefacts via email to DSCI at awards@dsci.in, while referring the nominations submitted earlier, or first get their wrong/incomplete submitted nomination form deleted from the database by informing through email at awards@dsci.in and then resubmit their updated nomination form. Individuals may resubmit their completely filled nomination forms till the last date.

Consolidation of all the nomination forms and other information received from various organizations will be done by DSCI Excellence Awards Process partner (PwC). Both DSCI and PwC shall take due care that confidential information is shared only with the designated stakeholders for evaluation purposes only.

Nomination pre-screening will be done by DSCI and PwC to shortlist the finalists in each category after a due diligence. All the shortlisted nominations’ cases would be presented by DSCI and PwC to Jury in a Jury briefing meeting, to justify their shortlisting. An eminent jury panel will then decide the winners in each category.

All the shortlisted organizations and individuals will be contacted and informed that their entries got shortlisted; relevant details would be shared thereof.

Winners will be announced at Nasscom-DSCI Annual Information Security Summit 2024 on 6th December, 2024. All the shortlisted nominations will be sent an invite to represent their organization / represent themselves at the Awards Ceremony.

Awards Partners
DSCI Excellence Awards Partner
Process Partner
Award Category Partner
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Best Security Practices in Automobile & Manufacturing Sector
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Cyber Security Academic Research
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