India Strengthens Internet Routing Security Through NIXI-APNIC Partnership

India is moving to strengthen the underlying security and resilience of its Internet infrastructure through a new partnership between the National Internet Exchange of India and the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, with the two organisations agreeing to work together on IPv6 deployment, Internet routing security and technical capacity building.

The agreement was signed in Mumbai on September 8, 2026, during APNIC 62, the Asia-Pacific Internet community’s flagship technical conference. The event has returned to India after a gap of 14 years and has brought together network operators, Internet infrastructure specialists, policymakers and technology professionals from across the region.

Under the agreement, NIXI and APNIC will collaborate on IPv6 and Resource Public Key Infrastructure, or RPKI, adoption, along with specialist training, Train-the-Trainer programmes and the development of technical laboratory infrastructure.

A particularly significant part of the partnership is the planned deployment of an RPKI Repository Mirror in India. The mirror is intended to improve access to routing-security information and help network operators retrieve the data needed to verify whether Internet routes are being announced by legitimate networks.

This addresses a part of the Internet that is largely invisible to ordinary users but critical to almost every online service.

The global Internet consists of thousands of independently operated networks exchanging information about how traffic should reach particular groups of IP addresses. Much of this routing is coordinated through the Border Gateway Protocol, or BGP. If incorrect routing information is announced — accidentally or maliciously — Internet traffic can be misdirected, intercepted or made temporarily unreachable.

RPKI adds a cryptographic layer of verification to this system. It allows holders of Internet number resources to create digitally verifiable records showing which networks are authorised to originate particular IP address prefixes. Network operators can then use those records to identify invalid route announcements and reduce the risk of route hijacking and routing errors.

India has already made substantial progress in creating these route authorisations.

APNIC data showed that by late July 2026, about 88.04% of India’s IPv4 route objects and 97.91% of its IPv6 route objects were covered by valid Route Origin Authorisations, or ROAs. However, adoption of Route Origin Validation — the step in which networks actively use this information to reject invalid routes — remained much lower.

That gap makes training and operational deployment an important part of the new NIXI-APNIC partnership.

Rather than concentrating only on infrastructure, the agreement therefore places considerable emphasis on building technical expertise among Indian Internet service providers, network engineers and other operators. Training programmes will cover RPKI implementation and IPv6, while Train-the-Trainer initiatives are intended to create a larger pool of specialists capable of spreading that knowledge across India’s Internet community.

The planned RPKI Repository Mirror adds a physical infrastructure component to this effort. RPKI relies on repositories containing certificates, Route Origin Authorisations and related cryptographic information. Having a repository mirror closer to Indian networks can improve access to this data and support more efficient operation of routing-security systems.

The agreement also builds on India’s already extensive deployment of IPv6, the newer generation of the Internet Protocol designed to provide a vastly larger address space than IPv4.

APNIC Director General Jia Rong Low said India has demonstrated global leadership in IPv6 adoption and described the partnership as a further step towards improving routing security within the country’s Internet ecosystem. APNIC and NIXI will work with network operators through technical training and knowledge sharing to accelerate the adoption of routing-security technologies.

NIXI CEO Devesh Tyagi said the partnership would translate India’s engagement with the wider Asia-Pacific Internet community into practical work covering IPv6, RPKI and technical training, while developing stronger domestic expertise.

NIXI occupies an important position in India’s digital infrastructure. Established under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the not-for-profit organisation facilitates the exchange of domestic Internet traffic between networks and also manages India’s .IN and .भारत country-code domains.

APNIC, meanwhile, is the Regional Internet Registry responsible for distributing and managing Internet number resources across the Asia-Pacific region. It works with network operators across 56 economies, providing technical services, training and support for the infrastructure that allows independently operated networks to connect to the global Internet.

The agreement was signed during APNIC 62, being held in Mumbai from September 4 to 10, with the main conference running from September 8 to 10. NIXI is the local host, while the Internet Service Providers Association of India is the co-host. The programme covers network security, IPv6 deployment, Internet operations, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and emerging infrastructure technologies.

As India’s digital economy expands, the resilience of the underlying Internet becomes increasingly important. Banking, digital payments, cloud computing, government services, telecommunications, artificial intelligence platforms and millions of businesses ultimately depend on networks being able to exchange routing information reliably.

The NIXI-APNIC partnership therefore deals with a layer of digital infrastructure that rarely attracts public attention but is fundamental to the functioning of the Internet itself. By combining IPv6 deployment, cryptographically secured routing, local repository infrastructure and specialist training, the initiative is intended to make India’s rapidly expanding Internet ecosystem more secure and resilient as the volume and complexity of network traffic continue to grow.

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