In news– As a part of the celebrations during Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Communicationhas recently hosted the International Telecommunication Union’s Regional Standardization Forum (RSF) for Asia and Oceania region.
About Regional Standardization Forum-
- It is a platform for constructive exchange of ideas, discussing standardization topics including inter alia India’s experience in various sectors of technology like Sustainable Digital Transformation and the Role of ITU Standards, Harnessing Technologies for Digital and Financial Inclusion in Emerging Markets, evolving Data Value Chain and Digital Health.
- It aims to provide an insight to for Asia and Oceania Region’s experience from policy and regulatory perspective under various sub-themes.
- The main objective of the event is to provide an open forum for debating and exchanging views on a number of standardization topics under discussion at ITU-T and to highlight activities related to the Bridging the Standardization Gap (BSG) Programme including the work of Regional Groups.
- Over 250 delegates from 20 countries have participated in Regional Standardization Forum.
- The Forum will be succeeded by four-day meeting of International Telecommunication Union-T Study Group 3 Regional Group Asia and Oceania (ITU-T SG3RG-AO) from 09th August 2022 to 12th August 2022.
About International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-
- ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication.
- It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, making it the oldest UN agency.
- Its history contains a number of important ‘firsts’, such as the standardization of the use of the Morse code and the world’s first radiocommunication and fixed telecommunication networks.
- ITU’s global membership includes 193 Member States as well as some 900 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations.
- Its headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
- The ITU was initially aimed at helping connect telegraphic networks between countries, with its mandate consistently broadening with the advent of new communications technologies.
- It adopted its current name in 1934 to reflect its expanded responsibilities over radio and the telephone.
- On 15 November 1947, the ITU entered into an agreement with the newly created United Nations to become a specialized agency within the UN system, which formally entered into force on 1 January 1949.
- The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Council.
- The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of the Union and is the decision making body which determines the direction of the Union and its activities.
- The Council, on the other hand, acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences.
Source: PIB
