ICANN85 meeting in India to focus on internet policy issues

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will hold its 85th Public Meeting in Mumbai from 7 to 12 March 2026. The event will be hosted by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The meeting will bring together participants from across the global Internet community to discuss and advance technical and policy work related to the secure and stable operation of the Internet.

Commenting on the meeting, Samiran Gupta, ICANN Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Managing Director for the Asia Pacific region, said that the forum would provide an important opportunity for the Indian Internet community to engage in international discussions on Internet governance, ten years after the previous ICANN Public Meeting in Hyderabad. He also acknowledged NIXI’s role in hosting the event in Mumbai.

Shri S. Krishnan, IAS, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Chairman of NIXI, said that India’s digital development is based on principles of openness, security, inclusion, and resilience. He noted that hosting ICANN85 reflects the country’s support for the multistakeholder model of Internet governance and for policy frameworks that encourage innovation and trust in the global digital ecosystem.

The meeting will focus on several key areas, including the next phase of the New Generic Top-Level Domain (gTLD) Programme, the development of a multilingual Internet, and the role of the ICANN community in supporting the multistakeholder governance model.

ICANN85 will take place shortly before the launch of the next application round for the New gTLD Programme, scheduled for April 2026. This programme represents the next phase in the expansion of the Domain Name System and allows businesses, communities, governments, and other organisations to apply for new top-level domains reflecting their identities, languages, and user communities. The meeting will include updates on the application process and related policy developments.

The New gTLD Programme also aligns with ICANN’s long-term objectives for managing the Internet’s unique identifier systems and maintaining global interoperability. It supports the development of a multilingual Internet, enabling users to access online services in their own languages and scripts, in line with India’s broader digital inclusion goals.

ICANN85 will be the first ICANN Public Meeting since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS+20) Outcomes Document in December 2025. The document reaffirmed that the Internet is a shared global resource whose stability and openness depend on multistakeholder cooperation, a position supported by both ICANN and the Government of India.

The WSIS+20 review emphasised the need for continued engagement in Internet governance processes. It highlighted the importance of broadening participation, strengthening capacity-building efforts, and sustaining dialogue through forums such as ICANN’s Public Meetings.