NEW DELHI: India can become a global leader in technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), said a top official of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Monday.

Speaking at the India Digital Summit, organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), TRAI Chairman PD Vaghela exhorted that the “future of India rests on its ability to embrace new technologies, respond to technology disruptions and seize the right opportunities”.

At the event, the top official also extensively spoke about 5G and 6G use cases, and the government’s efforts to support R&D for different use cases, according to a statement by the IAMAI.

“The Government is already promoting the start-up ecosystem and with over 5 billion IT professionals, India already boasts the largest IT talent in the world. And with startups capitalizing on digital governance, I am sure that India@2047 will be a force to reckon with,” Vaghela said.

Vaghela in his address said that the telecom regulator intended to regulate the sector with transparency while also promoting competition and safeguarding the rights of citizens.

He also pointed out the need to re-emphasise the eight crucial governance issues for India’s journey over the next 25 years, which as per the statement, includes how to revamp digital governance infrastructure, challenges arising out of convergence and reduced investment cycles due to technology disruptions, and identifying appropriate technologies, keeping in mind the country’s demographic advantage, the strength of its IT skills and strength of the SME sector, as well as boosting local manufacturing of digital equipment, and keeping technology at the core of policy formulation.

Trai chairman PD Vaghela told reporters Monday that all the sections and areas of the country need to be provided with the benefits of the latest technologies like 5G and that can only happen with digital inclusion.

 

Practical implementation of whole of the government approach through a collaborative approach, pursuing a sustainable and equitable “whole of society” approach and ensuring socio-economic, digital inclusion, and strengthening cybersecurity, bringing in vibrant privacy law and protecting citizens from spam and frauds are some of the other issues Vaghela stated in his address. The National Cyber Security Strategy 2023 covering the entire ecosystem is likely to come out soon following the formation of a task force, said a top government official in a separate address Monday at the IAMAI event.

“The existing 2013 policy is being revised now and the government has set up a task force. We have submitted recommendations for the National Cybersecurity Strategy of 2023,” Lt General (Dr) Rajesh Pant, national cybersecurity coordinator said.