PM to inaugurate ITU Area Office & Innovation Centre on 22nd March

PM to inaugurate ITU Area Office & Innovation Centre- On 22nd March 2023, Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office & Innovation Centre in India. The program will take place at Vigyan Bhawan and start at 12:30 PM.

During the inauguration, the Prime Minister will unveil the Bharat 6G Vision Document and launch the 6G R&D Test Bed, and he will also launch the ‘Call before u dig’ App. Moreover, the Prime Minister will address the gathering on this occasion.

The ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) and headquartered in Geneva, with a network of field offices, regional offices, and area offices. In March 2022, India signed a Host Country Agreement with ITU for the establishment of the Area Office.

The Area Office in India includes an Innovation Centre, making it unique among other area offices of ITU. The Area Office is located on the second floor of the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) building at Mehrauli New Delhi. It will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan, and Iran, enhancing coordination among nations and fostering mutually beneficial economic cooperation in the region.

The Bharat 6G vision document is prepared by the Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G), which was established in November 2021. Members from various Ministries/Departments, research and development institutions, academia, standardization bodies, Telecom Service Providers, and the industry collaborated to develop a roadmap and action plans for 6G in India.

The 6G Test Bed will provide academic institutions, industry, start-ups, MSMEs, and others a platform to test and validate the evolving ICT technologies. The Bharat 6G Vision Document and 6G Test Bed will provide an enabling environment for innovation, capacity building, and faster technology adoption in the country.

The ‘Call Before You Dig’ (CBuD) app exemplifies the Prime Minister’s vision of integrated planning and coordinated implementation of infrastructure connectivity projects under PM Gati Shakti. The app is designed to prevent damage to underlying assets like optical fiber cables due to uncoordinated digging and excavation, leading to a loss of about Rs 3000 crore every year in the country. The CBuD mobile app will connect excavators and asset owners through SMS/Email notification & click to call, facilitating planned excavations while ensuring the safety of underground assets.

The CBuD app illustrates the adoption of a ‘Whole-of-government approach’ in the governance of the country and benefits all stakeholders by improving the ease of doing business, saving potential business loss, and minimizing discomfort to the citizens due to reduced disruption in essential services like road, telecom, water, gas, and electricity.

The program will witness participation from IT/Telecom Ministers of various Area Offices of ITU, the Secretary General and other senior officials of ITU, Heads of United Nations/other international bodies in India, Ambassadors, Industry Leaders, Start-up and MSME, leaders Academia, students, and other stakeholders. The inauguration of the ITU Area Office and Innovation Centre, along with the Bharat 6G Vision Document, the 6G R&D Test Bed, and the CBuD app, are significant milestones towards strengthening India’s position in the ICT sector and fostering mutually beneficial cooperation in the region.