Context:
The National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), jointly launched the BhashaNet portal on Universal Acceptance (UA) Day.
More on the news
- The event will be held at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre in the National Capital on March 21, 2024.
- This will be the second event organized collaboratively by NIXI and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
- To promoting Universal Acceptance (UA) and advancing digital inclusion throughout India.
- Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Internet Governance division, MeitY, Government of India are actively supporting UA Day.
- The theme of the event,” BhashaNet: Impetus Towards Universal Acceptance,” highlights NIXI’s dedication to ensuring that individuals, regardless of language or script, can fully participate in the digital world.
- Through UA Day, NIXI and MeitY aim to mobilize stakeholders and raise awareness about the importance of UA readiness in today’s digital landscape.
Universal Acceptance (UA) Day
- Held annually and organized by the community-led Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) and ICANN.
- UA Day is an annual event that aims to advocate for the adoption of Universal Acceptance principles, which ensure that internet users can access online resources using domain names and email addresses in any script or language.
- UASG is a community-led organization that works to promote UA globally through education, outreach, and collaboration with stakeholders in the digital ecosystem.
- On March 28, 2023, India was proud to host the First Global UA Day as the flag bearer to promote and promulgate UA for digital inclusion.
What is Universal Acceptance (UA)?
- It ensures that all domain names, including new top-level domains (TLDs), Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), and email addresses are treated equally and can be used by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems.
- It provides the gateway to the next billion Internet users.
- It refers to the ability of computer systems to correctly handle and display all languages used on the internet.
Why is UA Day Important?
- Digital Inclusion: Promotes greater access to the internet for people who are more comfortable using their native languages.
- Multilingual Web: Contributes to a richer and more diverse online environment.
- Economic Growth: Facilitates participation in the global digital economy for non-English speaking populations.
What is BhashaNet?
- Vision: To provide a truly multilingual internet, where local language website name and local language email id, work everywhere seamlessly.
- Objective: It is working towards enabling people from remote locations and different socioeconomic backgrounds to access the multilingual Internet in India.
Mission:
- Encouraging use of local language website name and email id.
- Promoting awareness of local language url and email id.
- Developing policies and regulations.
- Supporting technical collaboration.
- Engagement of Website owners, Web-Developer Community, Web Security experts.
Why is BhashaNet Important?
- Bridging the Language Divide: India boasts a rich tapestry of languages. BhashaNet empowers those who are more comfortable using their native language to access the internet and its vast resources.
- Expanding Digital Literacy: By making the internet more accessible through local languages, BhashaNet can contribute to increased digital literacy and participation in the online world.
- Empowering Citizens: BhashaNet promotes inclusivity and ensures that everyone has the opportunity to reap the benefits of the digital age, regardless of their language proficiency.
About NIXI
- Founded in 2003, as a non-profit organization, under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 (under the aegis of MeitY).
- It was set up for peering of ISPs among themselves for the purpose of routing the domestic traffic within the country, instead of taking it all the way to US/Abroad, thereby resulting in better quality of service (reduced latency) and reduced bandwidth charges for ISPs by saving on International Bandwidth.
Services:
- Setting up Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) to facilitate efficient internet traffic routing within India.
- Managing the .IN Registry, the backbone for domain names with the “.in” extension.
- Facilitating the adoption of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses through IRINN (Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers).
- Providing data storage services through NIXI-CSC data centers.