India to Host the First Internet Governance Forum in the Country

The Forum will act as the platform for various stakeholders to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet

Anil Kumar Jain, the CEO, National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and the Chairman of Coordination Committee, India Internet Governance Forum 2021 (IGF), announced on 9 August, 2021 the launch of India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) -2021 in a Press Conference, organised at Electronics Niketan, New Delhi. IIGF- 2021 will be planned for three days, starting from 20th October, 2021. The theme of this year's meeting is Inclusive Internet for Digital India.

With today’s announcement, the Indian chapter of the United Nations based forum namely Internet Governance Forum has begun. It's an Internet Governance policy discussion platform to bring representatives together from various groups, considering all at par to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet. This mode of engagement is referred to as the multi-stakeholder model of Internet Governance, which has been the key feature for the Internet's success. Multi Stakeholder concept is well adopted by IGF (Internet Governance Forum) under United Nations and by Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Anil Kumar Jain, the Chairman of Coordination Committee, India Internet Governance Forum 2021 (IGF) said, "India is the second-largest broadband subscription country in the world and also has the highest data consumption per user per month. Therefore, the aspirations of the Indians should be reflected in International policy formation and stakeholder discussion. India Internet Governance Forum is the correct initiative for the country to ensure that the growth of broadband adheres to the lifestyle and requirements of the Indian community. IIGF 2021 is adopting the multi-stakeholder concept in organizing the event as per the true spirit of global IGF. The coordination committee has apt representation from civil society, Government, Industry, Industrial association, trust, and other stakeholders."

Starting from August 2021, multiple Pre-IIGF engagement events will be held at several colleges and universities, as a precursor to the IIGF Inaugural event. The idea behind this is to engage the youth and students for their participation in the October event and prepare the next generation to be part if policy formation.

India Internet Governance coordination committee for IIGF-2021 features Anil Kumar Jain as Chairman, TV Ramchandran as Vice-Chairman, Jaijeet Bhattacharya as Vice Chairman, Dr Rajat Moona as Vice-Chairman and approximately 12 members representing Government, Civil Society, Industries, Trust, Associations etc.