PM Modi’s Historic US Visit Gets India High Interest for G20 Crime & Security Meet Starting Today – News18

The effect of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to the US is visible in the country’s sheer interest in India’s G20 conference on ‘Crime and security in the age of NFTs, AI & Metaverse’ starting in Gurugram on Thursday. Among other countries like Israel, Austria, Singapore, who are taking part in this international event, the US is first in terms of participants joining as panelists.

Not just that, except one, all sessions will have panelists from the US. During his visit, the prime minister’s push to take the Indo-US strategic partnership to the next level was well reciprocated by President Joe Biden. The bonhomie was on display, be it allowing the Indian diaspora inside the White House during Prime Minister Modi’s address or the latter gifting a T-shirt with a slogan coined by the PM.

According to sources, the camaraderie between the two leaders may have played a significant role, seeing the unprecedented participation by the US. The American panelists include the chief adviser for artificial intelligence at Goddard Space Flight Center and the lead for NASA IT Strategy at NASA Headquarters; Vilas S Dhar, who serves as the US government’s expert on the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence; and global head of cyber security strategy of PayPal, USA among others. The session on ‘AI: Challenges, opportunities and responsible use’ will have all American panelists except one from India.

Similarly, from Israel, the adviser at the ministry of finance – CRISC/CISO/CISM (ex), ex-chair of the Israeli Securities Authority, would be joining as panelists. From India, Alkesh Sharma, secretary at the ministry of electronics and information technology, will be moderating one session on ‘Internet governance – National responsibility and global commons’.

Similarly, a maximum number of panelists are professors of IIT and executive director (technology and innovation) of Interpol, MM Oberoi, will be moderating one session.

The ministry of home affairs said more than 900 participants from G20 countries, nine special invitee countries, international bodies and technology leaders as well as domain experts from India and across the world will be taking part in the conference.

Union home minister Amit Shah will address the inaugural session and also flag off the cyber volunteer squads from seven premier educational institutions of India. Shah will also inaugurate an exhibition and release the conference medallion.

“The conference is envisaged as an opportunity to forge a global partnership to build a safe cyberspace and to prioritise cybersecurity concerns, it will provide a platform for cutting-edge ideas, knowledge exchange and networking with visionaries around the globe,” the MHA stated.