India calls on G20 nations for concrete digital action plan to deal with COVID-19 crisis

A virtual meeting of G20 Digital Economy Ministers was called on Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak and to form a globally coordinated response through digital technologies.

"G20 Digital Economy Task Force COVID-19 Ministerial statement calls for a coordinated global digital response to fight the pandemic, adopting measures to strengthen communication infrastructure and network connectivity, Non-personal data exchange in a secured manner, use of digital solutions for healthcare, cyber secured world and measures to strengthen the resilience of businesses," read a statement from the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad represented India at the meeting. All the Digital Ministers of G20 member countries and other international organisations attended the meeting. The Ministers agreed to support the potential of the digital medium to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to protect people.

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India focuses on building strong economies

Prasad emphasized that G20 nations have a responsibility to deal with the crises with a strong focus on constructing more equal, inclusive, and sustainable economies. He also stressed the need to build societies that are more resilient in the face of the pandemic.

Highlighting the steps taken by the Indian Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tackle COVID-19, Prasad also offered the strategy for the world to emulate. The Union Minister emphasized the importance to revive the economy while continuing the fight against the virus.

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Strengthening global supply chain amid crises

Ravi Shankar Prasad suggested that the next phase of digitalization should create an impact on livelihoods, accelerate various sectors, strengthen the supply chain and build a cyber safe world. He impressed upon the G20 ministers that the present situation demands greater collaboration among stakeholders for addressing issues related to social distancing, distributed workforce, and the changing nature of the global supply chain.

The Minister called on the G20 to formulate a concrete digital action plan to fight the global pandemic. Highlighting the crucial role of the Indian IT-ITeS Industry in maintaining continuity in the global business, Prasad offered a cost-effective solution for scattered global supply chains.

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(with inputs from ANI)