Indo-Japan pact on ICT

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India and Japan signed a pact on 15th January, 2021 to strengthen the cooperation in the field of Information and Communication Technology.

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• Traditionally, India and Japan relations have been strong. Exchange between Japan and India is said to have begun in the 6th century when Buddhism was introduced to Japan.
• Indian culture, filtered through Buddhism, has had a great impact on Japanese culture, and this is the source of the Japanese people's sense of closeness to India.
• In recent years, economic relationship between Japan and India have steadily expanded and deepened. The volume of trade between the two countries has been increased.
• India was the 21st largest trading partner for Japan, and Japan was the 12th largest trading partner for India in 2019, Also, direct investment from Japan to India has been increased, and Japan was the 4th largest investor for India in FY2019.
• With the same aspiration the pact signed on ICT has major focus on 5G technology, telecom security and submarine optical fibre cable.
• India has huge potential for Japanese investors in the field of 5G and 5G-based services, internet of things and digital health technologies.
• The timely implementation of bridging Andaman & Nicobar Island with submarine optical fibre cable is an excellent example of cooperation between India and Japan.
• The pact also includes development of smart cities, high altitude broadband in unconnected areas, disaster management and public safety.
• Organizations such as C-DOT and ITI Ltd and industry partners from Japan would also be part of this cooperation.
• During pandemic India has attracted huge investment in electronics manufacturing due to policies such as production-linked incentive schemes.