May 19, 2025

A significant visit to C-DAC, Delhi on May 19th, 2025, as we hosted a delegation from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), spearheaded by Chief Technical Officer Mr. Ollie Whitehouse, alongside representatives from the British High Commission in India.

The session commenced with Mr. Naveen Kumar Jain extending a cordial welcome and introducing the teams. He highlighted C-DAC's significant contributions as a premier R&D organization under MeitY, with a strong focus on quantum computing and cybersecurity, signalling our eagerness for enhanced UK collaboration. Mr. Ollie Whitehouse then offered opening remarks, outlining the delegation's goal to discuss areas of mutual interest during their visit to C-DAC Delhi.

We then delved into C-DAC's capabilities, starting with Mr. Abhinav Dixit's overview of our global presence. Mr. Mahesh Uttam Patil emphasized C-DAC's long-standing cybersecurity leadership, detailing our 25+ years of experience and the contributions of our 500+ experts across product development, lab infrastructure, services, and standards. Mr. R.S. Patil shared exciting advancements in our indigenous Post-Quantum Cryptography technologies, underscoring our commitment to global standards.

The delegation from UK's National Cyber Security Centre comprised of the following members:

1. Mr. Ollie Whitehouse, Chief Technical Officer, NCSC
2. Ms. Penelope H, International Relations, NCSC
3. Mr. Robert H, Technical Expert NCSC
4. Mr. Mark S, Technical Expert, NCSC
5. Ms. Laura Baldwin, FCDO Regional Cyber Lead, British High Commission
6. Mr. Alex Crosby, FCDO First Secretary Political and Cyber, British High Commission

From C-DAC, following members were present:

1. Mr. Naveen Kumar Jain, Scientist G & Centre Head, C-DAC, Delhi
2. Mr. Abhinav Dixit, Scientist G &HoD - International Cooperation & ACTS, C-DAC, Delhi
3. Mr. Mahesh Uttam Patil Scientist F, C-DAC, Hyderabad
4. Mr. R.S Patil, Scientist F, C-DAC, Bengaluru
5. Mr. Vijay Kumar Kayat, Scientist E, International Cooperation, C-DAC, Delhi
6. Mr. Prashant Kumar, Project Engineer, C-DAC Delhi
7. Dr. Lakshmi Eswari PR, Scientist G & Centre Head, C-DAC, Hyderabad attended the meeting online.

The key interest areas for collaboration opportunities, which were discussed during the meeting are:

• Mr. Ollie Whitehouse (NCSC) welcomed C-DAC's engagement, stressing the UK's push for global cybersecurity standards, full PQC adoption by 2035, and industry-driven innovation.
• Mr. Whitehouse emphasized the alignment between the UK and India in strategic technology areas such as high-performance computing and quantum technologies. He outlined NCSC's role in UK cybersecurity and expressed a strong interest in expanding collaboration with C-DAC, especially in AI, telecom security, and standards development through bodies like ETSI.
• NCSC recognizes alignment with C-DAC's focus areasand expressed strong interest in deepening collaboration.
• Delegation mentioned UK's testbeds and labs, including a telecom security lab, as potential collaboration areas.
• C-DAC's longstanding expertise in cybersecurity was showcased, covering areas such as digital forensics, threat intelligence, blockchain security, and AI-driven fake content detection. Mr. Patil outlined five strategic pillars guiding C-DAC's efforts: indigenous product development, laboratory infrastructure, security services, capacity building, and IP/standards development.
• India's significant strides in post-quantum cryptography were highlighted, with initiatives supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Key developments include FPGA-based crypto solutions, PKI systems leveraging NIST-standard PQC algorithms, and collaborations with premier academic institutions on hardware security and quantum key distribution. India is also working toward global compliance with standards such as FIPS 140-3 and ISO/IEC 19790.
• Both sides expressed interest to continue dialogue and expand cooperation in quantum computing and cybersecurity

Delegation praised C-DAC for its national & global initiatives and development of indigenous technologiesand appreciated effort for arranging this visit and meeting and requested for the earliest initiations of these co-operation opportunities by way of exchange of letters/proposals followed by entering into an understanding as soon as possible.