At UN, India Calls For Action On Twin Digital Divides

A report by Irina Bokova, the director-general of Unesco, presented at the meeting cited two examples of how ICT was used in India to enhance social development. The successful polio vaccination programme that led to India being certified free of the disease was attributed by Unicef to the communication and social mobilisation effort, the report said.

"Several organisations contributed to this historic achievement that addressed mis-perceptions and rumours held by families and communities that refused polio vaccines. The hardest-to-reach children were reached and have eventually been vaccinated."

The other example cited in the report is that of the "Child Survival and Development for Every Child in India" programme.

The report said, "Unicef strengthened the capacity of state governments to develop communication strategies for social and behaviour change in support" of the goals "and developed a communication for development curriculum, in collaboration with 10 leading Indian universities".

Addressing another major issue before the digital world, Mukerji said: "The international management of the internet should be multilateral, transparent and democratic. As a global common, cyber space cannot be managed only as private property. The governance and architecture of internet should reflect its global and democratic nature."

Currently, the U.S Department of Commerce oversees the internet domain system through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a California-based subcontractor. The domain system it coordinates is the tool that assigns internet addresses. The U.S has indicated that it would not renew the contract with ICANN when it runs out next September. There are several initiatives afoot for an international body to assume the role.

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