On December 8, 2020, The 6th Meeting of Joint Working Group under the India-Japan ICT (Information & Communications Technology) was held virtually. Cooperation in 5G technologies, medical applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) were some of the key issues discussed during the meeting. The meeting was inaugurated by Anshu Prakash, Secretary, Telecom, Ministry of Communication, India.
i.The virtual meeting was held through VC Solution, a web platform developed by India’s C-DOT (Centre for Development of Telematics).
ii.The India-Japan Joint Working Group on ICT was established in 2014 as part of the Japan-India ICT Comprehensive Cooperation Framework.
Participants:
i.Japan was represented by Yoshida Mabito, Vice-Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs & Telecommunications (MIC).
ii.The Indian side was represented by K Ramchand, Advisor (Technology) from the Department of Telecommunication and Anshu Prakash, Secretary (Telecom), Department of Ministry of Communication, India.
Key Points:
i.The two sides also held discussions on Submarine Optical Fiber Placement, Smart-City Development programme and application of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare, wireless planning, Standardization of technology and its utilization.
ii.They also undertook a collaborative project at the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in Hyderabad, the project involves the use of AI by Software to assist doctors in Colonoscopy diagnosis.
iii.The participants stated that ICT is an important tool to take forward the vision for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific of the two countries.
iv.India highlighted that Japan’s NEC Corp was involved in the laying of submarine optical fiber cable which connects Chennai & Andaman & Nicobar.
India-Japan Cyber Security Pact:
In October, 2020 During the External Affairs Minister Jaishankar’s visit to Japan, both countries finalized the text of Cybersecurity pact which is expected to promote the Cooperation in sectors such as 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Department of Telecommunications forms 8 Working Groups:
On December 1, 2020 Department of Telecommunications (DoT) constituted 8 working groups to create a blueprint for deployment of 5G in various sectors such as Agriculture, fintech, Transportation, Education, Water & Sewage management, Healthcare, Grid & Industry 4.0.
i.Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC), Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will head all the eight groups.
ii.The committee will consist of members from Telecom companies such as Huawei, Ericsson, Nokia. Qualcomm Technologies Inc will have members for industry 4.0, smart grid and education.
iii.The report will comprise technical solutions, use cases and doable action points.
Recent Related News:
i.The Fourth Edition of the Biennial Japan-India Maritime Exercise JIMEX-2020 took place between Indian Navy and Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the North Arabian Sea from 26th
September-28th September, 2020.
About Ministry of Communication:
Union Minister – Ravi Shankar Prasad
Minister of State (MoS) – Shri Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao
Headquarters – New Delhi
About Japan:
Prime Minister – Yoshihide Suga
Capital – Tokyo
Currency – Japanese Yen
