Launch of Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC)

Source: The post is based on the article “Launch of Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC)”  published in PIB on 9th August 2023.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has launched the Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC).

What is the Indian Web Browser Development Challenge (IWBDC)?

IWBDC is an open challenge competition that seeks to inspire and empower technology enthusiasts, innovators, and developers from all corners of the country to create an indigenous web browser.

The competition offers cash prizes totaling ₹3.4 crore to developers who create an indigenous web browser.

However, there is a condition that the browser ideas must trust the Indian government’s Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA), which handles digital signatures and SSL certificates.

What are SSL Certificates?

SSL certificates are used to encrypt websites and to make sure that browsers know that a website is not being modified or impersonated by attackers. 

Browsers trust these certificates if they are issued by a certifying authority that is in turn trusted by a ‘root certifying authority’.

India does not have a root certifying authority trusted by major browsers such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge.

This has led to a situation where the government operates a root certifying authority that is legally valid under Indian law — the Root Certifying Authority of India, set up in 2000 under the CCA — but the certificates issued under its purview are largely not recognised by Web browsers.

Due to this, Indian government and private websites need to purchase SSL certificates from foreign certifying authorities.