India calls on G20 nations for a concrete digital action plan to fight COVID-19

New Delhi: A virtual G20 Digital Economy Ministers meeting was convened on Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to forge a global coordinated response harnessing digital technologies.

“G20 Digital Economy Task Force COVID-19 Ministerial statement calls for a coordinated global digital response to fight the pandemic, adopting measures to strengthen communication infrastructure and network connectivity, Non-personal data exchange in a secured manner, use of digital solutions for healthcare, cyber secured world and measures to strengthen resilience of businesses,” read a statement from the Ministry of Electronics and IT.

At the meeting, India was represented by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. The meeting was also attended by Digital Ministers of 19 other G20 members, invited countries and international organisations.

Represented India at the meeting of #G20 Digital Economy Ministers held through video conferencing to discuss the challenges posed by #COVID19 pandemic and to forge a globally coordinated response harnessing digital technologies organised by @g20org pic.twitter.com/j6xAxJVPpH

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) April 30, 2020

At the meeting, G20 Digital Ministers agreed to leverage the potential of the digital medium to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and protect people.

Prasad emphasized that G20 nations have a responsibility that everything we do during and after this crisis must be with a strong focus on building more equal, inclusive and sustainable economies and societies that are more resilient in the face of the ongoing pandemic, the statement said.

Highlighting the steps taken by Indian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contain the spread of COVID-19, Prasad also offered the roadmap for the world to emulate. At the same time he emphasized on the importance to revive the economy while continuing the fight against COVID-19.

He said that next phase of digitalization is about applications that will impact livelihoods, accelerate various sectors, strengthen the supply chain and build a cyber safe world.

Prasad impressed upon the G20 ministers that the present situation demands greater collaboration among stakeholders for providing solutions that can address issues related to social distancing, distributed workforce and the changing nature of global supply chain.

He called on the G20 to come out with a concrete digital action plan to fight the global pandemic. He highlighted the critical role of Indian IT-ITeS Industry in maintaining the global business continuity and offered India as a lucrative destination for displaced global supply chains, the statement added. (ANI)