Innovation thrives in harmony, not isolation: Scindia sets stage for historic WTSA 2024

New Delhi: Setting the stage for the historic World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) 2024 in India -- which is being hosted for the first time in the country as well as in Asia-Pacific – Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday inaugurated the fifth Global Standards Symposium (GSS-24) here.

The symposium, organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), brought together about 1,500 leading policymakers and experts from across the globe to discuss the future of digital transformation and the critical role of international standards in enabling the next wave of emerging technologies.

"This historic gathering signifies a pivotal moment for India. We will be driving the future of global standards, ensuring connectivity for all and showcasing our tech prowess," said Minister Scindia, adding that "we must ensure innovation thrives not in isolation, but in harmony".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally inaugurate the historic ‘WTSA 2024’ in New Delhi on Tuesday, along with opening the 8th edition of ‘India Mobile Congress 2024’ during the programme.

The Union Minister also spoke about India’s success with new technology as it rolled out 5G across 36 states and union territories within a span of just 22 months, covering 98 per cent of all the districts. Scindia also spoke about Global Stack - Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Aadhaar and DigiLocker which stores about 6.75 billion documents serving 300 million users.

"The roll-out of 5G is expected to inject $450 billion into the economy by 2040," the minister told the gathering.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin emphasised the critical role of standards in the current global context.

"At the highest levels of global governance, standards are top of mind. They are more than mere technical specifications; they foster interoperability, promise innovation, and crucially, can serve as safeguards, ensuring that technology, including artificial intelligence, is developed and deployed responsibly," Bogdan-Martin told the gathering.

Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary, Dr Neeraj Mittal, highlighted the symposium's significance in shaping the future of telecommunications.

"The work we do here will decide the future of telecom," Dr Mittal said, emphasising India's commitment to leading the standardisation path forward, focusing on "interoperability, scalability, and security".