Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with the secretaries of central ministries last week was his second major interaction with top bureaucrats in less than two months. (File Photo)Cyber fraud prevention worth more than Rs 25,000 crore, a money restoration module to give refunds to victims, and the rollout of an E‑Zero FIR initiative were among the key points briefed for the first time before Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his meeting with the secretaries of central ministries last week, The Indian Express has learnt.At the meeting, which lasted around four hours, PM Modi was informed that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs had launched a new E-Zero FIR system last year. Under this system, cyber financial crime complaints lodged through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) or the cyber helpline number 1930 are automatically converted into Zero FIRs if the reported loss exceeds Rs 10 lakh.India recorded 98 lakh cybercrime complaints between August 2019 and May 2026, while only 2.3 lakh FIRs were registered during the same period. This translates into an FIR conversion rate of 2.36 per cent.Currently, the E-Zero FIR initiative has been launched in Delhi, Haryana, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Chandigarh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Assam. “PM Modi was informed that the process of implementing the E-Zero FIR initiative in at least 19 more states and Union Territories is underway,” a source said.Also Read | Home ministry’s AI vision: Predictive policing, dark web monitoring, and end of mule accountsCybercrime losses of Rs 64,447 crore reportedThis was PM Modi’s second major institutional interaction with top bureaucrats in less than two months. On May 21, he chaired a joint meeting of the Union council of ministers and central secretaries to develop regulatory roadmaps to realise the vision of a Viksit Bharat (developed India).At the meeting, home ministry officials also briefed PM Modi that the Centre had blocked around 2.75 lakh URLs, 233 apps, and 3,691 websites in the last five years for allegedly containing “material prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India” under the Information Technology Act.Between 2021 and May 2026, people reported cybercrime losses of Rs 64,447 crore. Of this, Rs 10,718 crore was frozen as lien. Only Rs 323 crore has been refunded to victims, a source said.Story continues below this adAlso Read | MHA’s cyber crime wing signs MoU with RBI subsidiary to crack down on mule accounts“Immediate interventions by the Centre have helped prevent fraud worth Rs 25,095 crore. Also, 2.27 crore transactions were declined, around 12.1 lakh mule accounts were debit-frozen, and 31.6 lakh suspect identifiers were flagged with the help of the suspect registry,” the source said.Home ministry officials also informed PM Modi that 1,596 banks and financial institutions have been onboarded on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal’s Citizen Financial Cyber Frauds Reporting and Management System.The home ministry also briefed Modi on its future plans, including setting up state and regional cyber crime coordination centres, and training police personnel to make them cyber commandos, a source added.Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More