The three days’ ‘Second meeting of ‘G20 Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG)’ concluded today at Hyderabad. The meeting was attended by 81 foreign delegates from G20 Members, 8 Guest Countries, 5 International organizations and one Regional Organisation.

On the first day, i.e. 17 April 2023, three thematic sessions were organised as a part of side events. The sessions included topics such as ‘High Speed Mobile Broadband and its impacts’, ‘Digital Inclusion - Connecting the Unconnected’ and ‘Sustainable Green Digital Infrastructure: Challenges and Opportunities’. It saw the discussion among the panel from international and national experts and intense question & answer with participants. Delegates also visited IIT-Hyderabad and experienced India’s path-breaking projects and cutting-edge research in the field of digital & telecom technologies such as 5G Products, 5G base stations, 6G system prototypes, Autonomous Navigation testbed, and AI-powered RNA- electronic test kit.

On the second day, i.e. 18 April 2023, the proceedings of the day was initiated by Shri Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, MeitY and thereafter, Shri Sushil Pal, Joint Secretary, MeitY chaired and anchored the discussions with delegates of G20, guest countries and International organisations. A multi-stakeholder workshop on “Mutual Recognition Framework on Digital Skills” was also organised. The best practices and latest initiative on the subject matter were presented by the respective experts from the Government, Industry and Academia. The insightful deliberations held during the workshop was appreciated by the participating delegates.

Thereafter, in-depth discussion on the priority area titled ‘Digital Skilling’ was held. The participating delegates discussed the critical role of Digital Skilling on shaping Digital Transformation and on creating the Future Ready Workforce. The inclusive development was re- emphasized during the discussion.

On the third and the last day of the meeting, the detailed discussions on the priority areas namely ‘Digital Public Infrastructure’ and ‘Cyber Security in Digital Economy’ were held among the G20 members, the guest countries, and the International Organisations. To bring coherence among the various Working Groups and Parallel Tracks of G20, the respective leads from GPFI and the Health WG also presented their progress and linkage with DEWG. DPI Initiatives especially related to Financial Inclusion & Universal Digital Healthcare and their impacts in India were highlighted.

Over the three days, several cultural programmes were also organised, and the richness of Indian culture, Indian cuisine, Indian arts, and folk forms of India were showcased to the delegates. As a next step, a series of bilateral & multi-lateral meetings among the G20 members will be held. The third in-person meeting of Digital Economy Working Group is planned to be organised in the month of June, 2023 at Pune, Maharashtra.

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