B20 Summit India: Rajesh Gopinathan Lists Four Ideas For Global Digital Transformation

The B20 Summit is working on four foundational ideas which include universal digital connectivity, digital literacy, technology adoption by MSMEs and harmonising global cybersecurity standards, according to Rajesh Gopinathan.

"We are focused on making sure there is continuity between past commitments in B20 and what we are recommending now to ensure proper implementation," Gopinathan, co-chair of the Task Force on Digital Transformation, and former managing director and chief executive officer of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., told BQ Prime on the sidelines of the summit.

Universal Digital Connectivity

The first among the four foundational ideas that the B20 is working on is universal digital connectivity.

According to Gopinathan, universal digital connectivity which is high quality, reliable, and future-proof requires regulatory measures to enable them.

"Regulatory environment needs to enable this level of global digital connectivity, which is going to be critical for economy-wide transformation," he said.

Digital Literacy

The B20 is recommending a global minimum standard programme for digital literacy for skill development, he said.

"We are recommending a global minimum standard programme for digital literacy and some form of institutional intervention to have an accreditation at an institute or a teacher level so that skills implanted can be relied on by businesses globally," he said.

Technology Adoption By MSMEs

According to Gopinathan, medium and small enterprises have lagged in terms of adoption of digital technology and therefore, the focus is to bring them at pace with other industries for competitiveness.

"Focus is to making financing available to them for investments in digital adoption and ensure they have access to sector-specific basic digital toolkits from the India Stack to empower their digital transformation," he said.

He highlighted that the India Stack is an economy-wide digital toolkit and businesses can innovate on the basic infrastructure. A global adoption of such a mechanism can be beneficial.

Harmonising Global Cybersecurity Standards

Acknowledging that cybersecurity is a sovereign subject that countries may want to deal with internally, Gopinathan said a plan to set up a global cybersecurity standard can help in increasing compliance and its effectiveness.

"Cybersecurity will be sovereign subject. But if the G20 countries were to agree on a common minimum cybersecurity standard, the effectiveness of compliance will go up," he said.

About B20 Summit India 2023

B20 is among the most prominent Engagement Groups in G20, with companies and business organisations as participants. Throughout India's G20 Presidency, the B20 India Secretariat—represented by the Confederation of Indian Industry—led the B20's activities.

The theme for the B20 India 2023 is Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable, Equitable (R.A.I.S.E) Businesses.

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