India Internet Governance Forum 2022

• The India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) 2022 was recently addressed by the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
• “Leveraging technology for empowering Bharat” is the theme for 2022.
• The purpose of the event is to discuss the roadmap to the digitization and to reaffirm India's position on the international stage by highlighting its significance in the development of global internet governance policies.

What is India Internet Government Forum (IIGF)?

• The India Internet Government Forum is an initiative associated with the UN Internet Governance Forum (UN-IGF) project.
• The UN-IGF is a multi-stakeholder forum that brings together representatives from various groups, believing that all of them are on an equal footing to discuss public policy matters pertaining to the Internet.
• The World Summit on the Information Society, which took place in 2005, produced the Tunis Agenda, which gave rise to the Internet Governance Forum.
• In accordance with the mandate outlined in the Tunis Agenda for the Information Society, the IGF meeting is held annually by the Secretary-General of the United Nations since its inaugural meeting in 2006.

About Tunis Agenda:

• The Tunis Agenda is the final document adopted at the conclusion of the second phase of the World Summit on the Information Society, (a UN Summit) in 2005.
• The document contains provisions on financial mechanisms for bridging the digital divide, Internet governance which encompasses not only technical issues related to the management of the Internet technical resources (names and addresses) but also public policy issues; and that the various stakeholders (private sector, civil society, the academic and technical communities) have roles and responsibilities in Internet governance.
• Although the Tunis Agenda is not a legally binding instrument, it outlines a series of recommendations regarding the implementation of the WSIS objectives and action lines at national, regional, and international levels.

What level of internet connectivity does India currently have?

• The largest "connected" nation in the world is India, which has 800 million internet users.
• With 1.2 billion Indian users, 5G and BharatNet's largest rural broadband connectivity project will have the single-largest presence on the internet.
• India has also increased access to the internet for developing nations in the Global South whose economies have not been able to step up and digitise at the same rate as their internet-dependent counterparts.
• Internet advantages: These advantages include increased output, financial freedom, and easier access to knowledge.

Internet governance: What is it?

• Internet Governance refers to the creation and implementation by governments, business, and civil society, in the context of their respective spheres of influence, of common values, norms, regulations, methods of decision-making, and initiatives that influence the development and use of the Internet.
• It includes tasks like the coordination and development of technical standards, the maintenance of vital infrastructure, and concerns with public policy.
• IP Addressing, DNS, Routing, Technical Innovations, Standardization, Security, Public Policy, Privacy, Legal Issues, Cyber Norms, Intellectual Property, and Taxation are all aspects of Internet Governance.

Internet governance layers:

• Infrastructure layer, physical
• Logic or code layer
• material layer
• Security

India's Strategy

• India is in favour of a multi-stakeholder strategy for Internet governance.
• The Government will continue to exercise absolute authority and control over matters pertaining to national security.
• India's industry and human resource, which can be used in a multi-stakeholder approach, are its strengths in the sector.
• Challenges include the internet's ongoing evolution, the concentration of digital power in a small number of nations and companies, the digital divide, the lack of infrastructure in rural areas, the gender divide, and decision-making that is more pro-supply than pro-demand.