Yogi Adityanath Underlines Importance of Digital Technologies at G20 1st Digital Economy Working Group Meeting

On February 13, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the G20 1st Digital Economy Working Group Meeting and spoke about the recent Global Investors Summit, which took place from February 10th to 12th, and the investment proposals worth over 33,50,000 crore rupees that were received during the event.

Union Minister of Electronics & IT, Communications and Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Heavy Industries, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey and Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Secretary, MeitY, Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Durga Shankar Mishra and foreign delegates were also present.

An exhibition showcasing virtual reality & artificial intelligence as well as innovative solutions such as ASK AI, ASK GITA, AI Chess, AI in daily lives, Digital India Journey, Lucknow VR Tour, and various initiatives of the Central Government and the State Government of Uttar Pradesh was also inaugurated. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, MeitY, delivered the welcome address, emphasising the DEWG's critical role in promoting cyber security, fostering digital competency and advancement, and facilitating DPI development in the digital economy.

Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Communications, and Railways, addressed the audience, demonstrating the power of digital technology through public-private partnerships. Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Minister for Heavy Industries, stated that numerous initiatives in the fields of robotics, drones, additive manufacturing, electronics, and control have been approved to encourage the adoption of Industry 4.0. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development, and Entrepreneurship, spoke about how technology can be used to improve citizens' lives and the importance of governance and democracy.

The first session of the day focused on 'Digital Public Infrastructure: Sharing Implementation Experiences of Digital Identity in Different Countries. Jonathan Marskell, Senior Program Officer, World Bank, Dr. Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI, Dr. Pramod Varma, CTO, EkStep Foundation, Ichwan M Nasution, Indonesia, Dr. Irina Alexandra Soeffky, Germany, and Fabian Delcros, European Union were among the distinguished speakers. During the session, the World Bank revealed that 850 million people lack an official ID and that it is working in approximately 50 countries to support the development of digital ID systems, including funding in the amount of $2 billion. The importance of Aadhaar as the foundation for building other aspects of digital public infrastructure was emphasised during the session. The need for a solid legal framework to make sure data protection, security, and privacy was also discussed.

The second session on 'Sharing of Cyber Security Solutions for MSMEs', was participated by Vinayak Godse, CEO, DSCI, Frederic Sauvage, France, Craig Stanley-Adamson, United Kingdom, BasmahAljedai, Saudi Arabia, Camille de Burgh, Australia, Sandeep Aurora, Microsoft & Derek Pillar, MasterCard Inc. The Cyber Campus of France, the UK National Cyber Strategy, and Saudi Arabia's vision of a centralised governance model for 2030 were all addressed during the session. Participants also talked about the importance of capacity building, the impact of cyber threats, current ecosystem trends, and the Global Cyber Alliance's toolkit for small businesses.

Three startups, Prophaze, Payatu, and Wi-Jungle, discussed the cyber security issues faced by Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the solutions they provide during the session. They shared their knowledge and insights into the current cyber security landscape, as well as the steps that MSMEs can take to protect themselves from potential threats.

Dr. Paulin Basinga, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, KeyzomNgodupMassally from UNDP, Joshua Bamford, UK, Melisa Tekeli, Turkiye, Viraj Tyagi, eGov Foundation, and CV Madhukar, Co- Develop participated in the third session on 'Digital Public Infrastructure to Boost SDG Attainment. The delegates discussed best practises for collaboration and sharing DPI initiative outcomes. The importance of technical interoperability as a priority for success, as well as the benefits of an open resource stack to stimulate market growth and strengthen state capacities, were emphasised. The importance of open source, open APIs, and interoperable digital solutions in the development of a strong digital infrastructure was also discussed.

Dr. Subi Chaturvedi, InMobi, Akshay Tripathi, Devesh Chaturvedi, Dr. Roshan Jacob, Saurabh Babu, and Vineet Kumar from the Uttar Pradesh government attended the fourth session on Showcasing Digital Initiatives of the State of Uttar Pradesh. Several initiatives were discussed, including the upcoming Mega Data Centre in Greater Noida, Nivesh Mitra - Single Window System for Investors, Mine Mitra for the Mining Sector, and DigiShakti, among others. Arvind Kumar from the Government of Uttar Pradesh, Akshay from YourStory, and Meenakshi from Infosys also discussed the role of government, industry, and academia in collaboration, as well as interactions with beneficiaries.

The last thematic session of the day was on 'the Use of Geo-Spatial technologies for infrastructure and Product development in the digital economy'. Sushil Chandra, Head Computer Image Processing Division, Remote Sensing Applications Centre (RSAC), Govt. of UP, Dr. Vinay Thakur, Additional Director General, BISAG-N Govt. of India, and Rohan Verma, CEO MapMyIndia were among the speakers. It was discussed how GIS has been used effectively to collect real-time traffic data from users on the ground, analyze it, and then share daily and dynamic updates to provide a smooth and efficient service. Sushil Pal, Joint Secretary, MeitY, delivered the closing remarks.

The second day promises to be just as exciting, with keynote addresses from Troika members and thematic sessions on the critical topics of Digital Public Infrastructure, Cybersecurity, and Digital Skill in the Digital Economy, all of which are on the Digital Economy Working Group's priority agenda.