Gandhinagar: The Gujarat government on Wednesday constituted an 11-member core committee and a 19-member task force to strengthen cybersecurity in the state’s power sector, citing a heightened risk of deliberate cyber intrusions amid the prevailing geopolitical climate.

While the core committee will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary/Secretary of the Energy and Petrochemicals Department (EPD), the task force will be led by the Managing Director of Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL).

In a notification, the EPD said the power sector is critical to the economy and society, warning that any disruption could have far-reaching consequences. It noted that rapid digitalisation through technologies such as SCADA systems, IoT sensors, smart meters and interconnected smart grids has improved efficiency but also expanded the sector’s exposure to cyber threats.

The core committee will include the MD of GUVNL, officials from the Department of Science and Technology, representatives of the Home Department and National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU), the Director (West Zone) of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), and representatives from Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar and the Central Electricity Authority.

The task force will comprise managing directors of MGVCL, DGVCL, PGVCL and UGVCL, along with the MDs of GETCO and GSECL, besides cybersecurity experts and representatives from GTU, LD College of Engineering and other institutions. DeshGujarat