MeitY Launches India Internet Governance Forum-2021, Indian Chapter Of UN Based Internet Forum Begins

The India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) -2021 was launched on Monday (9 August). IIGF- 2021 will be planned for three days, starting from 20 October 2021. The theme of this year's meeting is 'Inclusive Internet for Digital India.'

"With today's announcement, the Indian chapter of the United Nations based forum namely Internet Governance Forum (IGF) has begun," the Ministry of Electronics and IT said.

IGF is a discussion platform on internet governance policy 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 by both IGF and Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Commenting on the announcement, Anil Kumar Jain, the chairman of the coordination committee, IIGF-2021, said, "India is the second-largest broadband subscription country globally and 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," he said.

"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," he added.

Starting from August 2021, multiple pre-IIGF engagement events will be held at several colleges and universities as precursors to the IIGF Inaugural event. The idea behind this is to engage the youth and students in the October event and prepare the next generation to be part of policy formation.