Various initiatives related to expansion of ITU India Regional Office, Digital Innovation Council, Digital Transformation Lab, Accelerator Center and India Global Innovation Center agreed

Continuation of India-Japan Joint Working Group on Cyber ​​Security, ORAN, Quantum and others emerging. technological areas

India and Bahrain decide to actively cooperate in the ICT sector in areas such as artificial intelligence, 5G use cases, cyber security and the development of the Data Embassy..

Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, led a high-level delegation to several important meetings in Geneva at the headquarters of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) from 18-20. March 2024. The visit focused on promoting cooperation and exploring innovative initiatives in the field of telecommunications and information and communication technology (ICT). Highlights of the visit include:

India Leads Digital Innovation Council Co-Chaired by Dr. Neeraj Mittal: Dr. Neeraj Mittal was unanimously elected Co-Chair of the ITU Digital Innovation Council under the auspices of Innovation and Entrepreneurship . Digital Development Union. The Digital Innovation Council consists of Ministers and Deputy Ministers from 23 ITU Member States covering Asia, Europe, Africa, North and South America.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) launched the Alliance for Digital Development Innovation and Entrepreneurship to respond to remarkable ITU: the needs of the membership in the field of innovation as expressed in the Kigali Action Plan adopted at the World Telecommunication Development Conference 2022 (WTDC-22) and the Outcome of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022 (PP-22). ). The Alliance has three main tools: –

Digital Transformation Lab
Network of Accelerator Centers
Digital Innovation Board
The Alliance will establish a Digital Innovation Board to provide strategic leadership, expertise and support in its mission to build critical local enablers and drive innovation. . and entrepreneurship in digital development to create a more inclusive and fair digital future for all.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has selected 17 organizations from around the world to host a network of accelerators and the New Delhi, India. , together with the ITU Regional Global Innovation Center Office, to coordinate operations of network acceleration centers worldwide..

Dr. Neeraj Mittal met Dr. Cosmos Zavazava at ITU headquarters earlier this week. The meeting discussed various initiatives related to the expansion of ITU Area Office India, Digital Innovation Board, Digital Transformation Lab, Accelerator Center and Global Innovation Center in India and agreed on the next steps. He invited ITU to host the next Digital Innovation Council meeting in India along with the 2024 World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA)..

Greater Indian participation in ITU activities:

Dr Neeraj Mittal also chaired the review meeting held at the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva (PMI). Permanent Representative, PMI, Shri Arindam Bagchi and other senior officers joined the meeting. The meeting reviewed progress towards critical milestones and efforts to increase India’s participation in ITU activities involving Indian academics and industry members..

Bilateral Meetings

A bilateral meeting between India and Japan took place on the sidelines of the Digital Innovation Council meeting at the ITU headquarters. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Neeraj Mittal and M/o Japanese Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Hiroshi Yoshida. The meeting looked at the engagement of India and Japan in the telecommunications and ICT sector and the leaders proposed active cooperation in artificial intelligence, 5G use cases and certification of Quantum Products between both countries. Both emphasized the need to work together to develop a framework for reliable products and agreed to launch sub-working groups on 5G use cases and massive MIMO under the India-Japan Joint ICT Working Group.

Dr. Mittal invited Japanese government and industry representatives. . to visit and participate in WTSA 2024 and In India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024 apart from various side events organized in connection with WTSA 2024 such as ITU Kaleidoscope, Exhibitions, Conference AI for Good Global Impact India, Women Network, Safe Listening Workshop with WHO, Hackathon..

The Telecommunications Secretary also chaired an India-Bahrain bilateral meeting with Mohammed Bin Thamir, Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of the Kingdom of Bahrain, at the ITU headquarters in Geneva in conjunction with the Digital Innovation Council meeting. Both countries have decided to actively cooperate in the ICT sector in areas such as artificial intelligence, 5G use cases, cyber security and embassy data development. They agreed to review the ICT Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries, which expired in 2015.India offered to share with Bahrain the Fairness Assessment and Evaluation Standard for AI Systems, a status note on the regulatory sandbox..

The visit highlights India’s proactive commitment to shaping the global telecommunications environment and commitment to harnessing innovation for socio-economic development..