On February 17 2025, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communication (MoC), Government of India (GoI), and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in Geneva, Switzerland signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to collaborate on advanced infrastructure planning using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven digital twin technologies.
- This partnership aims to leverage cutting-edge technologies for the sustainable development of infrastructure.
Signatories: The LoI was signed by Doreen Bogdan-Martin, Secretary-General (SG), ITU and Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom), DoT, MoC, during his official visit to Geneva.
Key Areas of Collaboration:
i.Digital Transformation in Infrastructure: The collaboration will focus on driving innovation through AI and digital twin technologies, virtual world technologies, and the transformative potential of International Mobile Telecommunications(IMT)-2030 technologies.
ii.Global Standards and Best Practices: Both parties will work on the development of global standards, ensuring seamless interoperability and scalability of AI-driven solutions and promote shared frameworks for sustainable development and capacity building.
iii.Citizen Engagement:To enhance participatory governance by utilizing AI platforms that involve citizens in real-time urban planning and infrastructure development, ensuring better decision-making.
iv.Data Integration and Privacy: The LoI highlights the importance of integrating data across sectors and ensuring privacy-enhancing techniques (PETs) in the development of digital twins for urban planning.
v.Sandbox Environments and Demonstrations: Establish sandbox environments to test innovative digital twin technologies, conduct pilot projects, and adapt regulatory frameworks that validate the transformative potential of these technologies.
Academic Collaboration:
i.In addition to infrastructure planning, DoT and ITU signed an agreement to initiate a ‘Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) fellowship scheme’ focused on telecommunications and emerging technologies.
- This scheme aims to foster closer ties between Indian academia and ITU, driving global telecom research.
- The proposed scheme envisions supporting PhD fellowships over 5 years in the ITU focus areas.
i.International Exposure: Indian scholars will have opportunities to engage with ITU experts, participate in ITU Study Group meetings, and present their research at international forums.
ii.Institutional Collaboration: Participating Indian institutions will receive Government of India-sponsored ITU-academia membership, providing access to ITU’s extensive research resources, databases, and global academic networks.
iii.Guided Research: Scholars will work under the co-supervision of ITU-appointed experts and a DoT-nominated member in their Research Advisory Committee (RAC) to align their work with global research priorities.
Points to Note:
i.India has also proposed to host the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2030, an important step toward positioning India as a hub for telecom policy discourse.
ii.India previously hosted “World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA) 2024” in New Delhi (Delhi).
About International Telecommunication Union (ITU):
Secretary-General (SG)– Doreen Bogdan-Martin
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
Established– 1865
