India Inks MoU with Colombia for Sharing Successful Digital Solutions Via India Stack

• India signs MoU with Colombia on sharing India's open-sourced DPIs
• MoU intends to promote digital transformation via India Stack
• Colombia seeks to transform itself from consumer to technological producer with the strategic collaboration of India, world leader in Digital Government, Artificial Intelligence and information technologies.

India and Colombia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Sharing Successful Digital Solutions Implemented at Population Scale for Digital Transformation. It was signed between the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Information Technologies and Communications of Colombia.

Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, and Jal Shakti, Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar exchanged the MoU with Mr. Mauricio Lizcano, Minister of Information Technologies and Communications of Colombia.

The MoU intends to promote digital transformation (viz INDIA STACK) through capacity-building programs, the exchange of best practices, the exchange of public officials and experts, the development of pilot or demo solutions and the facilitation of private sector contacts to mutually benefit the digital ecosystems of both countries.

Introduced in 2009, INDIA STACK is the largest open API in the world that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery. 

Both sides discussed the importance of Digital Public Infrastructures. These infrastructures constitute a set of shared digital systems that are secure and interoperable. They can be built on open standards to deliver and provide equitable access to public and private services. India Stack Solutions are DPIs developed and implemented by India at population scale to provide access and delivery of public services.

 

India is keen on partnering with Colombia by building upon development partnership on digital transformation leading to a smooth adoption of Digital Public Infrastructure in Colombia.

Colombia, which until now has been mainly a consumer of technology, aspires to take a significant turn with this strategic partnership. India, recognized as one of the world leaders in technology, will share its knowledge to empower Colombia as a technology producer in crucial areas such as Digital Government, Artificial Intelligence, talent training in Information Technology (IT) and Digital Public Infrastructure.

The agreement contemplates the creation of a joint working group that will strengthen cooperation in technology transfer, development of public digital infrastructure and training of human talent. In addition, it will focus on advancing digital transformation in key areas such as Digital Government and Artificial Intelligence.

Deepfake: Minister Held Digital India Dialogues with Digital Intermediaries on Deep Fakes, IT Rules Compliance

Platforms and Intermediaries Commit to Tackling Deepfakes Under Existing Laws

“Platforms have agreed that within the next 7 days, they will ensure that all terms and contracts with users expressly forbid them from engaging in the 11 types of content laid out in the IT rules”: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar

“MEITY has confirmed the imminent appointment of a ‘Rule 7’ officer and a digital platform for users to report any violations by intermediaries”: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar 

In a Digital India dialogue session held on Friday, Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, reiterated the need for safe and trusted internet, and for social media intermediaries to be accountable to Digital Nagriks. Following Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s concerns about deepfake threats, all platforms and intermediaries agree to align their community guidelines with the IT rules, specifically targeting 11 types of content that causes user harm including Deepfakes.

Addressing the media after the session, the Minister affirmed the collective commitment of platforms and intermediaries to confront deepfake challenges within the bounds of current regulations.

The Minister said, “All platforms and intermediaries have agreed that the current laws and rules even as we discuss new laws and regulations, they provide for them to deal with deepfakes conclusively. They have agreed that in the next seven days they will ensure all the terms and views and contracts with users will expressly forbid users from 11 types of content laid out in IT rules. The Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji had already highlighted the issue of deepfakes and the threats and challenges that it represents to a safe and trusted internet last year. MEITY has conveyed that there will be an imminent appointment of a rule seven officer shortly and a digital platform for digital nagriks to report violations of law by intermediaries. Digital nagriks have rights to a safe and trusted internet and intermediaries are accountable for providing the same."

Acknowledging the progress in grievance redressal mechanisms, Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar urged continued collaboration with intermediaries to address challenges such as deepfakes and misinformation.

“We have in partnership, the government and platforms done considerably well in terms of addressing grievances. I must congratulate intermediaries for proactively doing this. However, there is more to be done, especially in the areas of misinformation, deepfakes and advertising of betting illegal betting platforms and advertising of fraudulent loan apps. These continue to be threats to safety and trust online,” the Minister further added.

Union Minister Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar to Deliver Keynote at India’s Largest Online Gaming Convention on December 5

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Fantasy Sports (FIFS) and the E-Gaming Federation (EGF) is all set to organise the first edition of the nation’s largest gaming conference, the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC), on December 5, 2023, at the Taj Palace, New Delhi. Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, will deliver the keynote address at the valedictory session.

Leading policymakers, regulators, gaming industry captains, marketers, game developers and service providers will converge on one platform to address the IGC, which is expected to draw more than 700 delegates, including senior professionals of the online gaming ecosystem of the country.

Among stalwarts of the gaming landscape who will share their insights at the IGC will be Dr. Trivikraman Thampy, Co-founder, Games24x7; Dilsher Singh Malhi, Founder & CEO, Zupee; Salone Sehgal, General Partner, Lumikai; Ishita Grover, Director (Marketing), Oneplus; Deepak Jacob, General Counsel, DreamSports, and Anuraag Saxena, CEO, EGF.

International speakers, addressing the IGC will include Jean Major, a former Canadian regulator currently on the Board of the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Commission, and Sarah Ramansaukas, a player safety expert from the UK, who co-founded The Game Safety Institute.

Elaborating on the context of the Convention Harsh Jain, Chairman, IAMAI and CEO and Co-founder Dream Sports, said, “2023 has been a defining year for India’s Online Gaming industry, marked by multiple positive developments like MeitY’s appointment as our nodal ministry, notification of the IT regulations and clarity on taxation. These developments will facilitate the industry’s sustainable and responsible growth over the long term. I look forward to insightful discussions at IGC, where the focus will be on exploring collaborative strategies between industry, Government, and the ecosystem to enable a safe, trusted, and accountable Indian online gaming industry that can emerge as the global hub for gaming.”

Bhavin Pandya, Chairman of the IAMAI Online Gaming Committee, and Co-founder & Co-CEO of Games24X7 said, “The Indian online gaming industry is going through a tectonic shift, with 2023 being a landmark year in its evolution. Key tax and policy frameworks have laid a robust foundation for the online gaming sector, but there is a long way to go from here. This underscores the need for platforms like the Indian Gaming Convention (IGC) where open and honest dialogues between industry and government, stakeholders and partners, and visionaries and innovators are earnestly facilitated. Such platforms are crucial for our industry to seize opportunities and face challenges collectively. I'm confident that the IGC will evolve into a central platform which will play an instrumental role in shaping the future of the online gaming industry in India.”

More than 35 of subject-experts will deliberate upon the opportunities and challenges before India’s online gaming industry 360 degrees in 10 of sessions, including keynotes, fireside chats, and panel discussions. Some of the key sessions of the IGC will be on “Future of Gaming: Fuelling Innovation to Make India a Global Gaming Hub”, “Empowering the Digital Landscape: Online Gaming's Role in Fueling Digital India”, ”Building a Robust National Regulatory Framework for Online Gaming”, “Investor Insights: How Can the Industry Build Through Regulatory Shifts”, “Gaming's Role in Promoting Culture, Education, and Sports”, and “Voices of the Game: Online Gaming in India, A User-Speaks Experience”.

Value Leaf is the Platinum Partner of the IGC, and it is being supported by the Government of Telangana.

For more information on India’s largest gaming convention please visit IAMAI Event | Indian Gaming Convention

About IAMAI:

Established in 2004, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body and the country's only organization representing the digital services industry with over 550 Indian and multinational corporations as its members. IAMAI is dedicated to presenting a unified voice of the businesses it represents to the government, investors, consumers, and other stakeholders. IAMAI represents varied sectors such as digital payments, fintech, digital commerce, digital advertising, digital entertainment, traveltech, online gaming, edtech, healthtech, agritech, big data, ML, AI & IoT, AR/ VR, logistics-tech, D2C, EV, VC, gift cards, and so on.