TRAI reiterates its commitment on WTISD

The ITU’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is celebrated every year on 17th May worldwide, to commemorate remarkable journey of the world in telecom and Information arena. It also aims at raising awareness of the various advancements in the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and how they can be used for the betterment of society.

The theme for this year is “Accelerating digital transformation in challenging times” which reflects the importance of digital transformation which can help the economy and society to meet the challenges including challenges paused by Corona epidemic that are being faced by the world today.

It is inevitable that the world is becoming increasingly dependent on the Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). The arrival of new technologies and innovations in this domain is only hastening the process of complete digital transformation. This digital transformation has aided the growth of digital economy and information society which has formed formidable lines of defense against any critical and challenging situations. This has been proved all over the world during COVID-19 pandemic. Telecom and ICT sectors have played a major role in meeting the challenges during the pandemic. Almost every facets of our life be it education, office work, business, banking , health, commerce and social connectivity, sailed smoothly and successfully during these turbulent times.

We are on the verge of experiencing 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in our daily life as these are very promising technologies and are going to accelerate digital transformation in new normal situation. The next decade belongs to the advancement in these technological field and very soon we all will witness a paradigm shift in our day to day functioning and handling of challenges. it goes without saying that such technological transformation will require us to focus on digital inclusion. The poor and underprivileged sections of the society will require to be empowered by a well thought strategy of digital inclusion by all countries so that they are not left behind and can reap the benefit of new technologies and ICTs for their economic development.

This World Telecommunication and Information Society Day unites the world in pursuit of digital transformation in every area of business and all aspects of life. In that context, it will be important to align our national and regional ICT policies with the global policy framework as promoted by ITU.

India has adopted the National Digital Communications Policy (NDCP) in the year 2018 with specified strategic objectives to be achieved by the year 2022. These objectives of NDCP will promote the usage of ICT which will directly help in achieving digital transformation. One of the important objectives of the NDCP is to create a robust digital communication infrastructure with special emphasis in bridging digital divide which can be used for development in various sectors including Education, Healthcare, Energy, Employment, Innovation, etc.

On the occasion of World Telecom and Information Society Day, as a regulator, we will continue to work with all stakeholders to empower all our citizens so that they communicate,
connect and prosper using ICT.
CT Bureau