NEW DELHI: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has chosen the Global Innovation Centre in India to coordinate the work of Network Acceleration Centres around the globe.
This decision was taken by the Digital Innovation Board of the ITU in Geneva, which also unanimously elected India as Co-Chair of the Board, according to an announcement yesterday by the Indian Ministry of Communications.
The ITU has selected 17 organisations from around the world to host Network of Acceleration Centres, all of which, will now be coordinated from New Delhi, where a Global Innovation Centre is already functioning at the ITU Area Office in the India’s national capital.
India’s election as Co-Chair of the Digital Innovation Board is significant because the ITU has recently launched an Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development ‘to respond to the needs of ITU members in the area of innovation.’
The Alliance will have three main vehicles – a Digital Transformation Laboratory, Network of Acceler
ation Centres and the Digital Innovation Board.
‘The Alliance has mandated the Digital Innovation Board to provide strategic guidance, expertise and advocacy regarding its mission of building critical local enablers and fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in digital development, to create a more inclusive and equitable digital future for all,’ according to the Indian Ministry’s announcement.
The Ministry has nominated Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of India’s Department of Telecommunications, to function as the Board’s Co-Chair.
The new initiatives fall under the aegis of the ‘Kigali Action Plan’ adopted two years ago at the World Telecommunication Development Conference and the Outcomes of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2022. The ITU is the specialized agency of the United Nations for information and communication technologies (ICTs).
Dr. Mittal offered to host the next meeting of Digital Innovation Board in India, alongside a World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) to be held lat
er this year.
Dr. Mittal also chaired a review meeting at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in Geneva. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Arindam Bagchi, led senior officers at the meeting.
‘It reviewed progress on critical milestones and efforts to increase participation of India in ITU activities with greater engagement of academia and industry members from India,’ the Ministry’s announcement concluded.
Source: Emirates News Agency