From Backend to Frontline: Forensics Becomes Core to India’s Digital Economy

by R. Suryamurthy June 5, 2025

By R. Suryamurthy June 5, 2025 0 comments 3 minutes read

Courtesy: Indian Digital Forensic Market Report 2025

India must rapidly accelerate indigenous research and development (R&D) to build a sovereign digital investigation ecosystem and reduce its reliance on imported tools, a new report by Deloitte India and the Data Security Council of India (DSCI) said on June 5, 2025.

The “Indian Digital Forensic Market Report 2025” highlights digital forensics as a strategic enabler of trust, moving beyond a back-end support function to a frontline capability crucial for safeguarding digital trust, ensuring compliance, and reinforcing national resilience in India’s rapidly digitizing economy.

The report forecasts India’s digital forensics market to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 40 percent, reaching 11,829 crore Indian rupees ($1.39 billion) by fiscal year 2029-30. This growth rate significantly outpaces the global average of 11 percent.

Mobile forensics currently dominates the landscape with a 51 percent share, driven by a surge in smartphone usage, digital payments, and the proliferation of mobile-centric cybercrime. The public sector, particularly law enforcement, accounts for 81 percent of the demand, underscoring the increasing dependence on forensic technology to combat sophisticated digital threats.

“As India’s digital economy rapidly expands, so too does the scale and complexity of cyber threats,” said Nikhil Bedi, Leader, Risk, Regulatory & Forensic, Deloitte India. “Digital forensics has moved from a reactive tool to a strategic capability… The way forward lies in accelerating capacity building, fostering innovation in indigenous tools and embedding forensic readiness into the core of digital transformation strategies across sectors.”

The report recommends a strategic roadmap focusing on bolstering indigenous R&D to reduce import dependence. It also calls for expanding education and certification programmes to address a projected shortfall of 90,000 forensic professionals and modernizing national infrastructure with advanced labs and regional Centers of Excellence.

Strengthening public-private partnerships, streamlining procurement, and introducing unified regulatory standards will be vital for improving cross-border investigation capabilities and digital crime response, the report added. It also emphasized the need for a unified legal and regulatory framework to enhance the reliability and judicial effectiveness of digital evidence.

“India’s journey as a digital-first economy has opened immense opportunities—but it has also widened the playing field for cybercriminals,” said Vinayak Godse, CEO, Data Security Council of India (DSCI). “Digital forensics today must evolve beyond traditional boundaries, integrating with cybersecurity frameworks and supporting faster, more reliable investigations.”

Godse added that the report is among the first efforts to give focused attention to digital forensics innovation and industry building in India.

The report concludes that integrating forensic capabilities into India’s cyber and governance framework is imperative for a digitally empowered future. With appropriate investments in skills, infrastructure, and indigenous technology, digital forensics can evolve from a reactive tool to a proactive enabler of trust, resilience, and national security, ensuring India’s digital growth is inclusive and secure.

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