Aspen Institute India/ C&S Joint Roundtable on Communications Policy
The Joint Roundtable on Communications Policy is an annual Roundtable co-hosted by Aspen Institute India and the Communications and Society of the Aspen Institute USA. The Roundtable is a private roundtable of 25-30 business executives, government leaders, and visionaries from the United States and India. The Roundtable examines the impact of IT, Communications and Technologies on society, individuals and businesses within India, and its affects on the United States and the rest of the world.
The Future of Indian Mobile
February 7-11, 2008
Kovalam and New Delhi, India
In February 2008, industry executives from the US, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka met with government officials, researchers and other policy-makers in the third annual Joint Conference on Communications Policy between Aspen India and the Institute’s Communications and Society Program.
At a three-day meeting in Kovalam, India, participants hammered out recommendations for improving the Indian mobile industry infrastructure and spectrum use, roles for government (which included both a strong use of the new mobile media for m-governance as well as light touch regulation), and non-governmental recommendations for a new m-currency which could be used as a way of transferring money, goods and services, particularly in rural areas. Among the participants was Nripendra Misra, chairman of the Indian telecom regulatory agency, TRAI.
Subsequently, the group met in Delhi to present their recommendations to Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwahlia, Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission (which is chaired by the Prime Minister), Madhavan Nambiar, the Special Secretary of Communications and Information Technology on e-government, and Nikhil Kumar, the Chairman and seven members of the Parliamentary Committee on Information Technology. The senior sponsors of this meeting were ATT, Cisco, Credit Suisse and Qualcomm; sponsors were Intel, Google, Motorola, Vodafone-Essar, and Bharti Airtel.
 Enhancing India's Knowledge Workforce
February 1-5, 2007
Chennai and New Delhi, India
The second annual Aspen India/ C&S Joint Roundtable on Communications roundtable on “Enhancing India's Knowledge Workforce” held in February in Chennai and Delhi resulted in the roundtable group agreeing to collaborate in a public-private partnership to better equip India’s workforce with knowledge and skills on a globally competitive level. In Delhi, the roundtable participants presented their proposal titled “Minds of Fire” to three key Government officials: Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission; Kapil Sibal, Minister of Science and Technology, and Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry. Minister Nath urged the group to create a pilot project based on one of the recommendations to establish Knowledge Centers at Special Economic Zones in India, and has invited a detailed plan. View the 2007 report Minds on Fire: Enhancing India's Knowledge Workforce by Richard P. Adler.
 Connect and Catalyze: Can India Leverage ICT for Inclusive and Sustained Growth?
February 19-23, 2006
Goa and New Delhi, India
Connect and Catalyze succinctly describes many of India's economic challenges and opportunities and includes suggested implementations of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) as a means to sustained economic development. Topics include:
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Foreign Direct Investment
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telecommunications regulatory reform, and spectrum reform policies for widespread diffusion of ICT innovation
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information literacy in India
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government leadership.
The group, including several high-level ministers and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India, explored the viability of its own conclusions and recommendations for the future of India:
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set a leadership standard for ICT particularly regarding rural telecommunications issues
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move beyond software and focus on hardware and information management
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develop a long term strategy to promote ICT development in rural areas
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demonstrate leadership in using ICT through electronic governance, health, education and rural development among other means.
This report is a product of the First Annual Joint Roundtable on Communications Policy, jointly hosted by Aspen Institute India with the Communications and Society Program of Aspen Institute (U.S.) in February of 2006. Download the 2006 report Connect and Catalyze: Can India Leverage ICT for Inclusive and Sustained Growth? by David Bollier.
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