Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the Communications and IT Ministry to work on a project to make government services available on mobile phones.
This was revealed here today by Union Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad while delivering the inaugural address at the three-day CyFy 2014, the India Conference on Cyber Security and Cyber Governance, organised by Observer Research Foundation.
Prasad said the Prime Minister, being a leader who had been successfully using the new media from the early years, wants to reach people in every nook and corner of the country through digital tools and interventions.
He said the Digital India Plan, already approved by the Cabinet, is designed to achieve this goal which would also lead to massive expansion of IT infrastructure, creation of millions of jobs and ensuring effective e-governance of government programmes.
Prasad said the government plans to spend 21 billion dollars on the Digital India Plan which he said would be a game changer.
Also Read
He said while the NDA government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee was well known for highway programme, Prime Minister Modi-led government will be known for "internet highways".
Prasad said the Digital India Plan included Prime Minister Modi's stress on IT (India's talent) + IT = IT (India tomorrow), 3 Ds (democracy, demography and demand) and 3 Ss (speed, scale and skills).
While India is for free, unrestricted global internet, he also stressed the need to keep the medium safe and stable.
Prasad said India is committed to take extra steps for the evolution and stability of global internet which is the property of the whole world.
He underlined the need for collective efforts from all stakeholders to prevent manipulation and misuse of the internet and also a mechanism for accountability.
Delivering the keynote address, UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Sajid Javid also stressed on the need for collaborative internet governance built on multi-stakeholder principle.
He said India, being the largest democracy and with a booming market and a new government at the centre, is uniquely placed to lead the programme.
Delivering the welcome remarks, ORF Director Sunjoy Joshi impressed on the need to have an international body of all stake holders to monitor enforcement of law and order in the cyber space.
"It is imperative of the global community to come together to encourage conversation and debates on such matters and introduce rational policy initiatives on the same," Joshi said.
He said CyFy is a platform where many of India's imperatives and anxieties can be understood, appreciated and factored into various debates that are raging across the world.
More than 60 experts from the world are attending the second edition of the conference. This include US National Intelligence Officer for Cyber Issues Sean Kanuck, Head of Unit, Relations with Arms Carriers, Red Cross Switzerland, Jamie Williamson, UN Legal Officer on Counter Terrorism Marc Porret, Microsoft Cyber Security Strategist Aaron Kleiner, Head of Global Governance , The Hague Institute for Global Justice, Richard Ponzio, Netherlands Special Envoy on Cyber Space Conference Uri Rosenthal, Commissioner, Global Commission on Internet Governance Latha Reddy, NATO Cyber Defence Head Suleyman Anil, former Deputy NSA Alok Prasad, former CIC Wajahat Habibullah, Head of News, Twitter India, Raheel Khursheed, Member of Parliament Derek O'Brien, Parliamentary Standing Committee on IT chairman Anurag Thakur and many other experts from other countries and India.
