Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Thursday called on the G20 to form a ‘concrete digital action plan’ to address issues such as physical distancing and distributed workforce arising due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mr. Prasad was speaking at a virtual ‘G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ meeting that was convened on Thursday to discuss the challenges posed by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and to build a global coordinated response by harnessing digital technologies.
“He 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,” an official statement said.
The Minister of IT and Telecom also highlighted the critical role that Indian IT-ITeS industry plays in maintaining global business continuity, while adding that the next phase of digitalisation is about applications that would impact livelihoods, accelerate various sectors, strengthen the supply chain and build a cyber safe world.
Mr. Prasad also pitched Indian as a lucrative destination for displaced global supply chains.
“At the meeting, G20 digital ministers agreed to leverage the potential of digital medium to contain the pandemic and protect people. The minister during his intervention 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 added.
