The National Cyber Security Coordinator (NCSC) is a key leadership position, not a legislative act or a scheme, operating under the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). The position was created to address the growing challenges of cybersecurity and formulate policies for securing India's cyberspace. The origin of the role is linked to the formulation of the National Cyber Security Policy 2013. The first NCSC, Dr. Gulshan Rai, was appointed in 2015.
The NCSC's primary mechanism is to advise the Prime Minister's Office and the National Security Advisor on cybersecurity matters, coordinating threat response and shaping long-term cyber policy. The Coordinator is the head of the National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC), an operational cybersecurity and e-surveillance agency intended to monitor Internet traffic and fend off malicious cyber-activities. The NCSC coordinates with various central-level agencies on matters of national and critical importance.
The NCSC connects to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which is the national agency for responding to cyber security incidents under Section 70B of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. It also works with the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), established under Section 70A of the IT Act, 2000. The NCSC is involved in advancing India's updated National Cybersecurity Strategy.
The position has seen recent changes, with Navin Kumar Singh being appointed as the fourth NCSC in August 2025, succeeding Lt. Gen. M.U. Nair and interim coordinator Nath Gangavarapu. Singh is the first Indian Police Service (IPS) officer to hold the post. The NCSC is currently working on replacing the 2013 National Cyber Security Strategy with an updated framework, which includes the National Cyber Security Reference Framework (NCRF).