India appointed co-chair of Digital Innovation Board at International Telecommunication Union

New Delhi, March 21 – India has been elected as the co-chair of the Digital Innovation Board by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), as announced by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Thursday. Dr Neeraj Mittal, the DoT Secretary, was unanimously appointed to this position.

The Digital Innovation Board, formed under the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Alliance for Digital Development, consists of Ministers and Vice Ministers of Telecom/ICT from 23 member countries of ITU across Asia, Europe, Africa, and North and South America. Dr Mittal led a high-level delegation to Geneva for meetings at the ITU headquarters from March 18-20 to focus on collaboration and innovative initiatives in the telecommunications and ICT sectors.

The Digital Innovation Board aims to provide strategic guidance, expertise, and advocacy to build local enablers, foster innovation and entrepreneurship in digital development to ensure a more inclusive digital future. Dr Mittal also chaired a review meeting at the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, with the participation of Arindam Bagchi, the Permanent Representative, and senior officers.

During the visit, a bilateral meeting between India and Japan took place, inviting Japanese government and industry delegates to participate in ‘WTSA 2024’ and India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024. Additionally, a bilateral meeting between India and Bahrain, with Mohammed Bin Thamir, Minister of Transport and Telecom of Bahrain, discussed collaboration in areas such as Artificial Intelligence, 5G use cases, cybersecurity, and development of a data embassy, agreeing to revisit an MOU on ICT that lapsed in 2015.