The United Nations has launched the India chapter for Internet Governance Forum called India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF). The forum is an internet governance policy discussion platform to bring representatives together from various groups, considering all at par to discuss public policy issues related to the internet.
This mode of engagement is referred to as the multi-stakeholder model of internet governance, which has been the key feature for the Internet’s success. The multi-stakeholder concept is well adopted IGF (Internet Governance Forum) under UN and by ICANN.
To this end, the government has formed a coordination committee for holding discussions under IIGF 2021. The committee features Anil Kumar Jain as chairman and T.V. Ramchandran as vice-chairman, Jaijeet Bhattacharya as vice-chairman, Dr Rajat Moona as vice-chairman along with approximately 12 members representing the government, civil society, industries, trusts, associations, among others.
Commenting on the announcement, Anil Kumar Jain, chairman of the coordination committee, IIGF 2021 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. India Internet Governance Forum is the correct initiative for the country to ensure that the growth of broadband adheres to the lifestyle and requirements of the Indian community. IIGF 2021 is adopting the multi-stakeholder concept in organising the event as per the true spirit of global IGF. The coordination committee has apt representation from civil society, Government, Industry, Industrial association, trust, and other stakeholders.”
Starting from August 2021, multiple pre-IIGF engagement events will be held at several colleges and universities, as a precursor to the IIGF inaugural event to be held in October 2021. The idea behind this is to engage the youth and students and prepare the next generation to be part of policy formation.
