India, Japan sign pact to enhance mutual cooperation in ICTs
Jan 15, 2021
New Delhi [India], January 15 : India and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies on Friday.
According to an official release, the MoU was signed by Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad and Japanese Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Takeda Ryota during a video conference today.
India's Department of Telecom and Japan's Ministry of Communications will enhance mutual cooperation in the field of 5G technologies, telecom security, submarine optical fiber cable system to islands of India, spectrum management, smart cities, high altitude platform for broadband in unconnected areas, disaster management and public safety etc.
It has been agreed that apart from Ministry-level cooperation, Government of India organization such as C-DOT and ITI Limited along with industry partners from Japan will also part of this cooperation, said the release.
Speaking on this occasion, Prasad highlighted the timely execution of connecting Andaman and Nicobar Islands with submarine optical fiber cable as a great example of cooperation between India and Japan.
He further shared the rapid adoption of innovative digital technologies by India during the Covid-19 pandemic such as Aarogya Setu app, use of Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System for doorstep disbursement of cash by India Post, digital hearings in Courts of India and rapid growth of digital payments.
He also urged the Japanese electronics industry to invest in India and avail the benefits of the new technologies, while noting that India holds great potential for Japanese investors in the field of 5G and 5G based services, Internet of Things, digital health technologies etc.
Meanwhile, Takeda expressed happiness on the signing of the pact and expressed the commitment of Japanese government towards mutual cooperation and investments in India.
