“Digital India,” a $16 billion initiative to make digital services available to all Indian citizens within the next five years, is among the top initiatives of the Narendra Modi government, along with the “Make in India” program to boost domestic manufacturing.
The program includes $2.5 billion earmarked for universal mobile access, while other elements focus on digital inclusion, health and education.
The Ministry of Communications is collaborating with the WhiteSpace Alliance to help provide “middle mile” connectivity enabling “widespread, cost-effective Internet access in India and around the world,” says Dr. Apurva N. Mody, Chairman of WhiteSpace Alliance.
WSA also is sponsoring the Global Summit on Digital India, 26-27 October, 2015 in New Delhi, India.
The WSA Summit will describe plans and results of whitespace deployments, while senior government officials and global experts will discuss implications for the future of universal Internet access.
Dr. Udit Raj, India Member of Parliament; Dr. Malcolm Johnson, Deputy Secretary General, International Telecommunications Union; Darrell Owen, United States Agency for International Development; Dr. Oh Ser Wah – Institute of Infocomm Research, Singapore; Professor H. Nwana, Executive Director, Dynamic Spectrum Alliance and Dr. Rashmi Doshi, Lab Division Chief, United States Federal Communications Commission, will speak.
Dr. Kentaro Ishizu, Group Leader, National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan and Arun Jacob, Economist, United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development, also will be speaking.
To register for the Summit, go to WhiteSpace Alliance Global Summit. For information on the Summit agenda and sponsorship opportunities, visit http://www.whitespacealliance.org/GlobalSummit.html.
