India elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council

Context:

  • India has been elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Councilfor another 4-year term (2019-2022). The elections to the Council were held during the ongoing ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2018 at Dubai, UAE.

India and ITU:

  • By securing 165 votes, India ranked third among the 13 countries elected to the Council from the Asia-Australasia region, and eighth among the 48 countries elected to the Councilglobally.The ITU has 193memberstates who elect representatives to the Council.
  •  India has been an active member of the ITU since 1869, earnestly supporting the development and propagation of telecom in the global community of nations.  The country has been a regular member of the ITU Council since 1952, and has played an important role in harmonizing the contributions of member States from the region, always respecting the principlesof equality andconsensus-building.
  • “India shares the dream and vision of ITU to realize the world as one nation and knowledge society”, the Minister added,“Our strong partnership with the ITU is also demonstrated in the recent ITU decision to set up the ITU South Asia Area Office and Technology Innovation Centre in New Delhi.

Background:

  • ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs.
  • We allocate global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide.
  • ITU is committed to connecting all the world’s people – wherever they live and whatever their means. Through our work, we protect and support everyone’s fundamental right to communicate.
  • Today, ICTs underpin everything we do. They help manage and control emergency services, water supplies, power networks and food distribution chains. They support health care, education, government services, financial markets, transportation systems, e-commerce platforms and environmental management. And they allow people to communicate with colleagues, friends and family anytime, and almost anywhere. 
  • With the help of our global membership, ITU brings the benefits of modern communication technologies to people everywhere in an efficient, safe, easy and affordable manner.
  • ITU membership reads like a Who’s Who of the ICT sector. We’re unique among UN agencies in having both public and private sector membership. So in addition to our 193 Member States, ITU membership includes ICT regulators, many leading academic institutions and some 700 tech companies
  • In an increasingly interconnected world, ITU is the single global organization embracing all players in this dynamic and fast-growing sector.

Source:PIB

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