India Secures A Diplomatic Win At G20 Digital Economy Meet

The First G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting in India was completed on 15th Feb. The meeting concluded with productive & worthy deliberations.

The three-day event, held in Lucknow, provided a glimpse into India’s digital transformation journey and brought together G20 members, significant knowledge partners, and guest nations to talk about digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity, and digital skilling.

Approximately 80% of the items on India’s agenda for the working group on the digital economy are anticipated to be approved by participants, according to a senior official.

The source stated that developing a uniform framework for certification of digital skills throughout member countries was one of the significant advancements made in the negotiations and might aid Indian youth in finding employment abroad, even remotely.

The idea to establish a robust information sharing structure on cyber risks was highly appreciated, given one of the key objectives of the agenda was cooperation on cybersecurity.

Even though the CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team-India) already has such a framework with 50 countries, a second official added that it is always a good thing to be able to include other nations.

The promotion of its digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Digilocker, CoWin, etc., was the main focus of the Indian delegation at the summit. 

Although the members praised these platforms, the government is hopeful that the acclaim will lead to other G20 members asking for assistance in implementing such technology in their nations.

Five workshops that addressed a range of subjects including digital public infrastructure, cybersecurity measures for MSMEs, sustainable development objectives, and the use of geospatial technology launched on the meeting’s first day.

The meeting’s keynote speech on the second day was given by India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, and was then followed by presentations from the member nations and other multilateral institutions. 

The meeting’s third and final day, which India recommended as a means of creating a workforce prepared for the future, was centered on digital skills.

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