The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that India is the largest ‘connected’ nation in the world today with more than 800 million broadband users. He was addressing the concluding ceremony of the India Internet Governance Forum 2022, here yesterday, with the theme ‘Leveraging Techade for Empowering Bharat’. The Secretary, MeitY, Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that we are the largest ‘connected’ nation in the world with 800 million Indian users. 5G and the largest rural broadband connectivity network project at BharatNet will have 1.2 billion Indian users constituting the single largest presence of the global internet. He further said that we also expect further technological innovations as well as updated regulatory policies to remain relevant. The deep involvement by all stakeholders will be the third leg of this Global Standard Cyber Law Framework that we hope will catalyze the Indian internet and the economy, he added.
The MoS said that India now has a tremendous powerful offering, identity authentication to a very diverse and rich suite of applications, and improved accessibility to the internet to countries in the Global South which have not been able to step up and create the same sort of pace of digitization of the economy is an internetization of their economies. He further said that during the G20 Presidency, the Prime Minister declared that he will be open to India offering that platform to all those nations in the Global South that want to transform their digital economy and their governance model as India. The multistakeholder architecture of the Indian internet happened after a lot of effort. In the next few years, this multistakeholder engagement must go beyond the intellectual academic discussion to ensure the internet grows and innovation grows while keeping both safe and trusted and accountable for all the billion digital nagriks of India, he added.
The Secretary, MeitY, Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma addressing IIGF 2022
Speaking about the second edition of IIGF, the Secretary, MeitY, Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma said that the Digital India program augments India’s mission with digital literacy initiative skills with an exemplary indigenous success story, which has become a world story with technical progress shaping new India. The theme of IIGF 2022 “Leveraging Techade for Empowering Bharat” is appropriate as India is looking at the major initiative of connecting the unconnected ones with best internet connectivity. He further said that we are looking at building laws which ensure the privacy, protection, data, security and safety of our citizens. We are also looking at how to create a trillion-dollar digital economy in the next three years, he added.
About IIGF
The India Internet Government Forum is an initiative associated with the UN Internet Governance Forum (UN-IGF). The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder platform bringing representatives together from various groups, all at par to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.
The President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu attended the civic reception hosted in her honour by the Government of Uttarakhand at Dehradun this evening (December 8, 2022). She also virtually inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for various projects related to healthcare, power generation and supply, technical education and transport, on the occasion.
Addressing the gathering, the President said that the contribution of the land and the people of Uttarakhand to Mother India are immense. Uttarakhand is the source of many rivers that have irrigated and developed a large part of India. The Himalayas and Uttarakhand are embedded in the hearts and souls of Indians. Our sages have been taking shelter in the caves and caverns of the Himalayas in search of knowledge. This state has been a source of wellness, both in terms of spiritual peace and physical healing.
The President noted that there are many famous centres of naturopathy in Uttarakhand where a large number of people from India and abroad come and avail health benefits. She said that the state has immense possibilities for ‘nature tourism’, ‘adventure tourism’ as well as ‘medical tourism’. She was happy to note that Uttarakhand is setting up new institutions in the fields of modern medicine and Ayurveda.
Remembering the contributions of brave soldiers of Uttarakhand in India’s defence, the President said that on behalf of people of India, she would express her gratitude to the brave sons of Uttarakhand.
The President said that the entire Himalayan land, including Uttarakhand, has been the centre of Shakti worship since time immemorial. A part of the same dignity and strength is found in the life stories of brave-woman like Rani Karnavati, forest conservator like Gaura Devi and like Bachendri Pal, the first woman to hoist the tricolour on Mount Everest. She was happy to note that the young daughters of Uttarakhand are also moving forward on the path of progress.
The President said that we are celebrating Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. It is our duty to remember the known and unknown freedom fighters. She recalled the contributions of Bishni Devi Shah, Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali, Sri Dev Suman, Kesari Chand, Indramani Badoni and Shri Govind Ballabh Pant. She said that efforts should be made to acquaint the young generation of the entire country with the contribution of these personalities of Uttarakhand.
In the context of the younger generation, the President mentioned Lakshya Sen, on whom Arjuna Award was conferred recently and said that the 21 years old Lakshya Sen sets an ideal for the youth of the entire country to aim towards achieving excellence in their respective fields.
The President said that she was happy to lay the foundation stones and inaugurate various projects related to healthcare, power generation and supply, technical education and transport. She appreciated central and state government for these initiatives and expressed confidence that these projects would enhance public amenities in the state. She also appreciated the people of Uttarakhand and said that the hardworking and talented residents of the state have contributed significantly in the developmental journey of Uttarakhand.
Khadi India Pavilion, showcasing premium Khadi garments, village industry products produced by Khadi artisans in rural surroundings; Muslin khadi from West Bengal, Pashminas from Jammu and Kashmir, Patola silks from Gujarat, Banarasi silks, Bhagalpuri silks, Phulkari from Punjab, Kalamkari from Andhra Pradesh and many other types of cotton, silk and woolen products were shown interest and purchased by the visitors and the Khadi India Pavilion registered a record sale of Rs 12.06 crore. Supply orders of various products were received by the entrepreneurs, which would be beneficial for marketing of their products in future. Taking the Khadi of Gandhiji’s dreams to the global level, with the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi,Chairman, KVIC, Shri Manoj Kumar felicitated all the artisans and participants by giving them certificates and thanked them for their participation in the trade fair.
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had organized a “Khadi India Pavilion” in India International Trade Fair 2022, Hall no. 3 to showcase the finest handcrafted Khadi and Village Industries products. It Contextualized the vision of “Vocal for Local, Local to Global” of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi through Khadi India Pavilion. The ‘Khadi India’ pavilion set up by KVIC in the fair was visited by several dignitaries, Diplomats/High Commissions of Embassies, Members of Parliament, besides lakhs of visitors. The “Selfie Point” with Mahatma Gandhi ji and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in the theme pavilion of this ‘Khadi India Pavilion’ also remained the center of attraction for all the visitors.
Through the huge participation of more than 200 stalls by Khadi artisans/entrepreneurs and the representatives of small scale industries with artisan art, cultural diversity, traditional crafts of the country got an opportunity to meet Khadi lovers and know the interest of customers in the India International fair, so that they can prepare similar products in future.
Live demonstration of charkha spinning activity “cotton to yarn” making, pottery making, agarbatti making etc., inspired the youth to set up their own enterprises and how they can become self-reliant through KVIC schemes. Through the special ‘Facilitation Desk’, the youth got information about KVIC’s schemes to adopt self-employment and become ‘Job Providers instead of Job Seekers’.
India wins the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Vice Presidency and Strategic Management Board (SMB) Chair for the 2023-25 term.
By securing over 90% of the votes cast by full members of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) during its General Meeting held recently in San Francisco, USA, India’s representative, a member of the Indian National Committee of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and various technical committees of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS-India), was elected.
Representation of BIS (India) in policy and governance bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC ensures that Indian viewpoints on the important strategic and policy matters are put forth and it also provides opportunities to align the national standardization priorities with International best practices.
BIS is continually expanding its international footprints by working on the growth mantra provided by the Hon’ble Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumers Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal. Currently, BIS (India) is represented in various policy and governance bodies of International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and IEC such as ISO Council, ISO Technical Management Board (TMB), IEC SMB, IEC Market Strategy Board (MSB), IEC Business Advisory Committee (BAC), etc.
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is an international standard setting body that publishes international Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. Standardization Management Board (SMB) is an apex governance body of IEC responsible for technical policy matters.
Shri Vimal Mahendru will be the IEC Vice President representing India.
India today assumed the Chair of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), an international initiative to support responsible and human-centric development and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This comes close on the heels of India taking over the presidency of G20, a league of world’s largest economies at Bali, Indonesia.
The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar represented India virtually at the GPAI meeting held in Tokyo for the symbolic takeover from France, which is the outgoing Council Chair.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “We will work in close cooperation with member states to put in place a framework around which the power of Artificial Intelligence can be exploited for the good of the citizens and consumers across the globe- and ensure that there are adequate guardrails to prevent misuse and user harm.”
Highlighting that AI is a kinetic enabler for taking forward current investments in technology and innovation, the Minister said that India is building an ecosystem of modern cyber laws and framework that is driven by three boundary conditions of openness, safety and trust and accountability.
With National Programme on AI in place and a National Data Governance Framework Policy and one of world’s largest publicly accessible data sets programme in the works, the Minister reiterated India’s commitment to efficient use of AI for catalyzing innovation ecosystem around AI, that can create good, trusted applications for our citizens and the world at large.
The NDGFP aims to ensure equitable access to non-personal data and focus on improving the institutional framework for government data sharing, promoting principles around privacy and security by design, and encouraging the use of anonymization tool.
It also aims to standardise the government’s data collection and management. The NDGFP along with the envisaged Indian Data Management Office IDMO shall catalyse the next Gen AI and Data-led research and startup ecosystem.
The datasets programmes where anonymised non-personal data will be available for the entire AI ecosystem, also aims to boost the startup ecosystem.
AI is expected to add USD $967 Bn to Indian economy by 2035 and USD 450–500 billion to India’s GDP by 2025, accounting for 10% of the country’s USD 5 trillion GDP target.
GPAI is a congregation of 25 member countries, including the US, the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, and Singapore. India had in 2020 joined the group as a founding member. It is a first-of-its-type initiative for evolving better understanding of challenges and opportunities around AI. It works in collaboration with partners and international organisations, leading experts from industry, civil society, governments, and academia to collaborate to promote responsible evolution of AI and guide the responsible development and use of AI, grounded in human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.
Japanese State Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, Mr. Tsuge Yoshifumi, Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Mr. Makoto Nagamine, and French Minister for Digital Transition and Telecommunications, Mr. Jean-Noël Barrot, were among others who took part in the programme.
