10th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance, ICEGOV-2017 was held in New Delhi.
Centred round the theme of ‘Building Knowledge Society: From Digital Government to Digital Empowerment,’ ICEGOV lived up to its reputation of being a productive and effective on several counts.
It talked about right of access to internet without discrimination and strengthening of cyber technology to make internet safe and secure from terrorists and extremists.
If a report from Internet and Mobile Association of India and market research firm, IMRB international is to be believed, overall internet penetration in India is over 31 percent.
Urban India with an estimated population of 444 million has 60 percent internet users, while rural India, with an estimated population of 906 million has 17 percent internet users.
A detailed analysis of the report suggests that in urban areas of the country, internet user base has grown by seven percent to 263 million for year-on-year basis period ending October 2016.
Similarly, in rural areas, internet user base has grown by 22 percent to 157 million, which is expected to reach 170-180 million by June 2017.
As many as 30 countries took part in the conference. Focus was also laid on connectivity and research on internet-related subjects.