Remarks by S. Krishnan: “India must make significant strides towards internet governance”

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) are emerging as key drivers for inclusivity and empowerment globally. As the number of digital citizens continues to grow, the need for an open, safe and trusted internet becomes prominent. It is crucial to have adequate and appropriate regulatory and legal frameworks in place, where the responsibilities and accountability of intermediaries and platforms are well defined. The significance of internet governance is more pronounced for a country like India, which houses more than 900 million internet users. With expanding digitalisation, digital vulnerabilities in the country are at an all-time high, reflected in the frequent breaches of personal data and cyberattacks. To achieve the country’s Digital India vision, a secure, inclusive and sustainable digital ecosystem is critical. There is an urgent need for collective and collaborative efforts across various sectors and stakeholders to effectively navigate complexities related to internet usage and governance. The government is exploring legal and regulatory frameworks to create balanced, growth-oriented policies that strengthen internet governance. Further, with the growing use of AI, promoting its ethical and responsible usage will be important. Recently, the India Internet Governance Forum, the Indian chapter of the United Nations Internet Governance Forum, organised its fourth edition in the country. Delivering the keynote address, S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), reflected on the transforming landscape of the internet in India and the need for internet governance especially in the light of AI, sustainability and cybersecurity. He also highlighted the need for collaboration among multiple stakeholders and the significant role of international forums in defining the best internet governance policies. Edited excerpts from his address…

The internet landscape has changed significantly over the past 20-25 years. From being a novelty, it has become the first line of communication. The internet has become ubiquitous, and since it has become an essential part of everyone’s daily life, it must be protected, conserved, made more resilient, and of course, ensure that it is not misused. Consequently, several elements of internet governance have become significantly more important than before.

India, with over 955 million internet users, consumes it very differently from the rest of the world – 90 per cent of internet access in the country occurs via mobile data connections. For the rest of the world, over 90 per cent is based on wired connections and fibre optic networks. Mobile connectivity has been a game changer for India and has been at the core of the telecom expansion, but is it resilient enough as a medium in the long run? Or should we be investing more in broadband networks?

The government is implementing the National Optic Fibre Network initiative, which aims to expand high speed broadband connectivity across rural India. Once complete, it will lead to more information consumption and digital advancement in those areas.

Focus on infrastructure resilience

A vast network of submarine cables plays a crucial role in supporting the internet bandwidth. What happens if a disruption occurs at some point? Do we have the infrastructure to ensure that the connectivity remains stable during such an event? This is where internet resilience becomes critical. We are pushing for data localisation, but we need to ask – do we have the data centre capacity within the country to store all that data? Creating such capability is very crucial.

There is also the issue of power availability, or its lack thereof. Globally, all the major technology companies are exploring ways to secure adequate power for AI applications. Data centres consume significant loads of power. As industries witness the growing adoption of AI, power requirements are set to surge.

We, at MeitY, are looking into this issue very seriously, and are collaborating with the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and all other related agencies. We are working to build capacity to cater to the power requirements of the data centre sector.

Focus on governance

It is equally important to examine how the internet is being used and consumed today. For instance, at present, it is fairly easy to create a new internet domain. A decade ago this made sense as we encouraged more people to create websites to encourage adoption. However, we have now reached an inflection point where monitoring the creation of new websites and domain names has become crucial. We conduct a KYC (know your customer) procedure and are careful about granting new domain names to people who have a genuine requirement. Even in terms of developing standards and protocols, it is important that India makes significant strides towards internet governance.

Internet governance demands a multi stakeholder approach where collaborations and discussions are undertaken focused on issues and challenges, the country’s current and future priorities, impact on multiple stakeholders, and their interests and requirements.

Key developments in India

There are two key developments relevant to the Indian context. One, of course, is language. We have pushed globally for the adoption of more languages. Initiatives such as the introduction of internationalised domain names to promote a multilingual internet and bridge the digital divide are crucial. It is now possible to use domain names and open websites in 22 million languages. This development will enable greater inclusivity and participation in how the internet is used, particularly in a multilingual country like India. This is a positive development, and something that people might not be aware is possible.

Another key element is the cybersecurity domain. I believe awareness about cybersecurity and its implementation is becoming increasingly important. Regarding the use of AI in the Indian context, I believe that the current legislation is adequate. Many countries lack adequate laws, but fortunately, India has legal frameworks in place, which is very encouraging.

However, the issue lies in determining how to assign responsibility in case of a breach. Under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, internet intermediaries are broadly categorised. This raises the question – is there a need for better classification? Is there a need to redefine who carries how much responsibility? As mentioned, there could be various types of intermediaries in the process–ranging from pure technological intermediaries to infrastructural intermediaries–and their roles and levels of responsibility can vary. Especially in an AI context, that responsibility may change. So, this is another area that needs to be examined seriously.

In sum

Over the past two decades, digitalisation has transformed lives, bringing the world into our pockets. The challenge now is ensuring resilience and continuity in digital services, even amidst disruptions, to meet citizens’ needs effectively. Building systems for uninterrupted services is critical for securing the foundation of India’s digital future.

As mentioned earlier, we are at an inflection point in terms of internet governance. There are important international forums taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December 2024 and also globally next year. By then, it will be crucial for us as a country to clarify our stance on the internet governance aspect. We have many elements already in place, highlighting that we have remained steadfast in our approach.