Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday called for framing of global guidelines for regulation of digital technology, as all digital tools and applications are currently beyond controls and national boundaries and no country can protect its citizens from cyber threats alone.

He said this while inaugurating the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)–World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) 2024 and the 8th edition of the India Mobile Congress at Bharat Mandapam here.

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The Prime Minister said time has come for global institutions to accept the significance of global governance. Digital technology requires a global framework and prescription of Do’s and Don’ts. “We will have to work together and global institutions will have to come forward and take up this responsibility,” he said.

Mr Modi said just as the world made rules and regulations for the aviation sector, the digital world also needs a similar framework. For this, he said, the WTSA will have to work more actively. “I request all WTSA members to consider how telecommunications can be made safe for all,” he said.

“In an interconnected world, security cannot be an afterthought. India’s Data Protection Act and National Cyber Security Strategy reflect our commitment to building a safe digital environment,” he said while urging the WTSA assembly to work on standards that are inclusive, secure, and adaptable to future challenges, including ethical AI and data privacy standards that respect the diversity of nations.

The Prime Minister said there was need to give human centric dimensions to the current technological revolution, and it must be responsible and sustainable. “The standards that we set today will determine the direction of our future, stressing that principles of security, dignity and equity should be at the center of our discussions,” he added.

He said the goal should be that no country, no region and no community is left behind in this digital transformation and it should be ensured that future is not only be technically strong, but ethically sound, with innovation as well as inclusion.

Welcoming the WTSA and India Mobile Congress delegates, Mr Modi said today, India is the most happening place for telecom and related technology. There are 1200 million mobile users and 950 million internet users in the country. Forty per cent of all of world’s digital transactions take place in India. The country has made digital connectivity an effective tool for the last mile delivery, he said.

He said while the WTSA seeks to empower the world through consensus, the India Mobile Congress aims to strengthen the world through connectivity. In a way, both consensus and connectivity are at work at the event.

Today’s world riven by conflicts, needs both consensus and connectivity, the Prime Minister said. India has been propagating the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam (The world is a family), he said. India got an opportunity to lead G20 and gave the message of one earth, one family, one future. “India is engaged in taking the world out of conflicts and make it connect,” he said.

India’s mission from the time of the Silk Route to the present Technology Route has been to connect the world, and open doors for progress, the Prime Minister said. In such a situation, the partnership between the WTSA and the India Mobile Congress is inspiring. When there is connect between the local and the global, not just one country, but the whole world benefits, he said.

The Prime Minister said India’s 21st century progress in mobiles and telecom sectors merits study by the whole world. The world saw telecom as a means of service, while India treated it as a means for equity and opportunity. The medium is eliminating differences between cities and villages, the poor and the rich, empowering diverse welfare schemes.

He said the country had identified four pillars for Digital India. These were low prices for devices, extensive reach of digital connectivity, accessible data and the goal of Digital First. These were worked upon simultaneously, leading to good results.

India built a robust network of thousands of mobile towers across remote tribal, hilly, and border areas, ensuring connectivity for every household, he said. “In just 10 years, India has laid optical fiber which is eight times the distance between Earth and the Moon,” he said.

The cost of internet data in India is now as low as 12 cents per GB compared to many countries in the world where one GB of data is 10 to 20 times more expensive. “Today, every Indian consumes about 30 GB of data on an average every month,” he said.