Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurates 1st IIGF 2021; stresses on importance of internet governance

Emphasising the importance of the internet in the economy, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday stressed the importance of the internet in boosting the economy and the society and further how it's imperative to define its norms of governance. Further, he outlined the need to bridge the digital divide with a focus on the marginalized people living in the remotest part of the country. 

Speaking at the 1st India Internet Governance Forum 2021, IT Minister Vaishnaw said, "Internet is the most important part of economy and society and it is crucial to define its norms of governance. We have to bridge the digital divide with a focus on marginalized living in the remotest part of the country. It is also important to decide the ownership of the content shared online as young minds are easily tempted to believe in what is shared online especially on social media and there is a need to decide responsibilities on this."

Further speaking about the required attention for cybersecurity, he said that the entire system can be taken for ransom or held hostage due to the risks in cybersecurity and further hoped to find proper answers to such questions concerning a robust system for cybersecurity. 

Meanwhile, Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar who was also present at the event spoke about the future of the India Internet Government Forum (IIGF) and said that it aims to work with several government bodies for insuring future jurisprudence on the internet by bringing users on board as the most important stakeholders. "The future of global internet shall be led by India's internet ecosystem and innovation capabilities," he added. 

India Internet Governance Forum 2021

A first of its kind, the India Internet Governance Forum 2021 is a three-day online event based on internet governance.  Union Minister Vaishnaw inaugurated the event which is centered around the theme of 'Empowering India through Power of the Internet.' The event will look forward to bringing stakeholders of internet governance for discussing the roadmap for digitisation in India as an essential participant on a global basis. 

The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the National Internet Exchange of India. It is to be held between November 25 and November 27, 2021. Apart from that, the three-day forum will witness three plenary sessions on the themes chaired by different ministers.

Notably, the India Internet Government Forum (IIGF) is an initiative associated with the UN Internet Governance Forum which is a multistakeholder platform bringing representatives together to discuss public policy issues related to the internet. 

Image: Twitter/@AshwiniVaishnaw