India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directed banks and financial institutions to strengthen their cybersecurity measures amid escalating tensions with Pakistan. She instructed banks to designate two officials at their headquarters: one responsible for reporting all cyber-related matters and another to ensure operational continuity. Sitharaman emphasized the need for uninterrupted banking services and called for digital and core banking infrastructure to be fully firewalled and monitored around the clock to prevent cyber breaches or hostile activities. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also urged banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to remain on high alert for potential cyberattacks, reinforcing the call for crisis readiness and robust firewall systems during this period of heightened geopolitical risk.