About the Index
The Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) is published by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for information and communication technologies. The GCI 2024 is the fifth edition of this assessment.
The GCI evaluates national cybersecurity commitments across five pillars:
- Legal — cybersecurity legislation, cybercrime laws, data protection regulations
- Technical — national CERT/CIRT/CSIRT, standards implementation, technical mechanisms
- Organizational — national cybersecurity strategy, responsible agency, governance framework
- Capacity Development — awareness campaigns, training programmes, R&D, public-private partnerships
- Cooperation — international cooperation, information sharing, multi-stakeholder partnerships
The GCI 2024 introduced a five-tier classification system instead of traditional numerical rankings:
- Tier 1 (Role Modelling): Score 95-100 — countries demonstrating exemplary cybersecurity commitment
- Tier 2: Score 75-94.9
- Tier 3: Score 50-74.9
- Tier 4: Score 25-49.9
- Tier 5: Score 0-24.9
Note: The GCI 2024 uses a tier-based classification rather than individual country rankings. The india_rank field is set to 0 as there is no single numerical rank; India is classified in Tier 1.
India’s Performance
India achieved Tier 1 (Role Modelling) status with a score of 98.49 out of 100, a significant improvement from Tier 2 in the previous edition. India scored highly across all five pillars.
India’s Tier 1 placement puts it alongside countries like the United States, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and the UK — all of which are considered global leaders in cybersecurity governance.
India’s strong performance reflects its robust legal framework (IT Act 2000, Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023), the functioning of CERT-In (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team), the National Cyber Security Policy, and active international cooperation on cybersecurity.
India’s Pillar-wise Scores
| Pillar | Score (out of 20) |
|---|---|
| Legal | 20.0 |
| Technical | 19.8 |
| Organizational | 20.0 |
| Capacity Development | 18.7 |
| Cooperation | 20.0 |
Tier Distribution (GCI 2024)
| Tier | Category | Number of Countries |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Role Modelling | 46 |
| Tier 2 | Advancing | 29 |
| Tier 3 | Establishing | 49 |
| Tier 4 | Evolving | 56 |
| Tier 5 | Building | 14 |
Key Highlights of Latest Edition
- 12 countries achieved a perfect score of 100/100, including South Korea, UK, Denmark, Italy, Finland, and UAE
- The number of Tier 1 countries increased from 30 to 46, indicating a global improvement in cybersecurity commitment
- 194 countries were assessed — the most comprehensive cybersecurity assessment globally
- The Asia-Pacific region showed the strongest improvement across tiers
- Cybersecurity legislation and national CERT/CSIRT presence remain the strongest drivers of high scores
- Cooperation and capacity development are the weakest pillars globally, even among Tier 1 countries
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: GCI issuing body (ITU), India’s tier and score, five pillars, number of Tier 1 countries, perfect-score countries Mains GS-3: Cybersecurity challenges, CERT-In, IT Act provisions, Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, critical information infrastructure, national cybersecurity strategy Interview: “India scores 98.49 in cybersecurity readiness but faces frequent cyberattacks on critical infrastructure. How do you explain this gap?”
