Government Launches India Internet Governance Forum

The government on Monday announced that it will launch the India Internet Governance Forum. A local chapter of the UN's Internet Governance Forum, it will represent India's 800 million internet users at global level.

India Internet Governance Forum Launched

The forum will act as a platform for discussing policies related to the Internet. The India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) will consist 12 members. These members will come from across the government, civil society, industry and associations. Anil Kumar Jain, CEO, National Internet Exchange of India will lead the IIGF.

The government said that other members will include BIF president T V Ramachandran, Centre for Digital Economy Policy Research president Jaijeet Bhattacharya, and former DG of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing Rajat Moona.

Jain said, "India is the second-largest broadband subscription country in the world and also has the highest data consumption per user per month. Therefore, the aspirations of the Indians should be reflected in International policy formation and stakeholder discussion". He added that this will ensure that broadband grows in tandem with the requirements of the public. This includes broadening access to non-English speaking people, particularly in the 22 languages that India officially recognizes.

The forum will adopt a multi-stakeholder model for governance. Incidentally, this is the same model that the UN's ICANN adopted. This model have also been very successful across the world for internet governance.

Moreover, the forum will have a main three-day event in October. However, before that, in August, IIGF will have many engagements with colleges and universities across India. The new forum will seek to engage the youth and the state government stakeholders.