India to contest for re-election to ITU Council

New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) India will contest for re-election to International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council, Ministry of Communications said in a statement on Saturday.

New Delhi has also underlined its firm commitment to the UN telecom body's goals and vision for a connected society, and enabling ICTs to achieve Sustainable Development Goals-2030, the statement quoted Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan as saying.

He was speaking during World Summit of Information Society (WSIS) 2022 held from May 31 to June 3 in Geneva, Switzerland.

He said India has been at the forefront of global digital transformation, achieving excellence in development, and use of information and communications technologies (ICT).

Speaking at the reception event for introducing India's Radio Regulations Board (RRB) candidate and ITU Council candidature of India for re-election, Chauhan said the country shares the vision of ITU for a connected society and enabling ICTs, to accomplish SDGs 2030.

Proposing the name of M Revathi as India's candidate for Member, RRB, the minister said she has a proven track record of professional expertise, leadership capabilities, commitment to deliver time-bound tasks, systematic problem-solving capability, and framing regulations, for inclusive ICT development.

The minister reiterated India's firm commitment to contributing to the realisation of ITU's goals and appealed to the participants to support India's candidature for ITU Council as well as Revathi's candidature for RRB, the statement said.

WSIS is co-organized by ITU, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in close collaboration with other UN organisations.

It is an ongoing process since WSIS Summit in 2003, to take forward initiatives in building the information society for the world community.

India is contesting for re-election to ITU Council for the term 2023-2026. India has been a member of ITU and continuously participating in the activities of the Union, contributing to the growth and development of ICT.

During WSIS, the minister also participated in several sessions including high-level policy session on `Bridging the Digital Divide', Ministerial Round Table meeting on ICT for well being, inclusion, and resilience, and a high level dialogue on Artificial Intelligence (AI). "While delivering high level policy statement on digital divide, he apprised the global forum about the Indian government's initiatives like BharatNet to cover all 6 lakh villages, umbrella mobile coverage for all villages, high speed internet access to all and many other initiatives," the statement said.

The minister also informed that India successfully got a customised standards approved, that will help in spreading 5G in rural areas.