New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Communications Devusinh Chauhan has said that with its unprecedented scale and growing impact on daily lives, information and communication technology (ICT) is nowadays, a powerful tool for a more inclusive, resilient and prosperous society. “We need greater solidarity to move forward. The WSIS community has, collectively, the expertise and the resources to help us accelerate progress on the SDGs,” he said.

The Minister participated in the Ministerial Round Table Meeting on ICT for Well-Being, Inclusion and Resilience: WSIS Cooperation for Accelerating Progress on the SDGs. This session was organised on the sidelines of World Summit of Information Society (WSIS) 2022. The WSIS is being organized by the International Telecommunications Unions (ITU) at its headquarter in Geneva, Switzerland from 30th May to 3rd June, 2022.

He further said that India believes in the principle of Antyodaya, which means development of people at the bottom of the pyramid, the marginalized people, living in far flung areas and cut off from the mainstream. For development of reliable ICT infrastructure, six hundred thousand villages are being connected through optical fiber cable. Through use of satellite communication services and submarine cable networks, small and remote islands and other inaccessible areas are being connected.

While speaking at a High Level Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence, Devusinh said: “India, being one of the fastest-growing economies, has a significant stake in the AI revolution, given its disruptive nature and potential to transform economies.” The ‘High level Dialogue from the lab to the real world: Artificial Intelligence and the decade action’, was also organised as part of WSIS 2022 to discuss issues pertaining to AI and allied sectors.

During the high level dialogue in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Chauhan apprised the participants about the policy initiatives taken by the Government of India to mobilize this emerging sector. He mentioned India's national strategy for artificial intelligence which has formulated the way forward to harness the power of AI in various fields especially in healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, and smart mobility and transportation.

Chauhan said that India is one of the largest telecom networks in the world with one of the most affordable telecom services. Last year, the Government of India announced path breaking reforms in the telecom sector to further boost the growth of telecom industry; promote healthy competition and enhance the penetration of broadband and telecom connectivity. These reforms will usher a new era for the sector and will encourage investment by the industry. /BI/