Saturday 30 / November / 2024
New Delhi: Indian Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said that G20 Digital Economy Ministers reached a ground-breaking consensus under India’s Presidency on how to effectively shape digital public infrastructure (DPI) of the future.
Addressing a press conference here on the outcomes of the meeting, he said that consensus between nations focused broadly on three key areas – Digital Public Infrastructure, cybersecurity and digital skills.
"I want to brief you on one area where the G20 presidency of India has spent a lot of time in talking and gaining wide acceptance, which is the issue of technology and the ongoing growth and the expansion of digital economy...There has been awareness building and consensus around three topics that were on the agenda of the Digital Economy Minister's meeting. The first one is Digital Public Infrastructure, the second is cyber security in the digital economy and the third is digital skills," the minister said.
India has entered into eight Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) - with Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Papua New Guinea, and Mauritius offering them the India Stack and DPI at no cost and with open-source access.
These nations now have the opportunity to adopt and utilise these resources within their borders, further developing their unique innovation ecosystems.
The minister said India is now a case study, as a nation that employed and deployed technological tools for progress and growth.
“Countries that have lagged behind increasingly see this as a way to follow India’s lead in DPIs, an open-source digital infrastructure, and using it to create the same impact that India has. Through these G20 conversations, we have further understood how DPIs are a powerful mechanism for inclusion, especially for countries in the global south,” the Minister said.
Apart from DPIs, the minister spoke about how nations have prioritised cybersecurity as well emphasising its importance for a fast-paced growing economy.
“On cybersecurity, the G20 digital economy ministers have had wide-ranging discussions on why it is important for businesses to be protected. Cybersecurity is an important issue for all countries in the world because the digital economy is becoming an increasingly larger component of economic progress and the global economy,” he said.
The third point of consensus was digital skills. The Minister said that in a post-COVID digital world, it is necessary for nations to ensure that digital skills are taught and nurtured among the youth.
“Digital skills are increasingly needed in this post-COVID digital world. India’s talents are focused on creating digital skills for our youth. This is something that has resonated during this discussion.
Many countries are interested in partnering with each other and with India to create digital-ready, future-ready skill talent to deal with the ongoing challenges in the coming techade,” the minister said.
He said in the post-Covid increasingly digital world, India’s focus is on creating digital skills for youth.
“For the first time ever there has been a global consensus on Digital Public Infrastructures and this exciting conversation has gained momentum in the context of India’s G20 Presidency. There has been agreement on digital public infrastructure, cyber security, and importance of digital skills," he said.
