Will the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology be pleased to state:-
(a) whether any progress has been achieved on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Research and Multi-stakeholder Engagement Assistance Programme since its inception and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government will extend the deadline of the said projects and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of the representations made to these projects by the Government?
(a): Yes, Sir. The ICANN Research and Multi stakeholder Engagement Assistance Project funded by National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), which is a not for profit organization set up under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956 (now section 8 under Companies Act, 2013) with seed funding from Government, to Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) for enabling meaningful and sustained engagement in internet governance institutions and processes with particular focus on the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The project is broadly categorized into GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee) under ICANN Research Support and ICANN Multistakeholder Engagement. The GAC research support under the project is providing research based inputs for more active participation by GAC in ICANN meetings and on other related issues. The ICANN multistakeholder engagement component under the project is providing all stakeholders a venue to interact and exchange perspectives on ICANN and allied policy issues.
(b): Yes Sir, Government has extended the deadlines of the project till July, 2021 to achieve the deliverables of the project.
(c): Government participates in ICANN multistakeholder engagement conducted under the project and also reviews the project periodically.
********