BRICS Communications Ministers' meet: Dhotre shares India's tech initiatives to tackle COVID-19

Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre on Thursday appreciated field force who managed telecom networks during COVID-19, and shared technology initiatives taken by the government to curb the pandemic at a BRICS meeting.

Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Sanjay Dhotre on Thursday appreciated field force who managed telecom networks during COVID-19, and shared technology initiatives taken by the government to curb the pandemic at a BRICS meeting. The BRICS Communications Ministers' Meeting, held on Thursday, was hosted by Maxim Parshin, deputy minister of digital development, communications and mass media of Russia.

The meeting is held annually under the rotating chairship of member countries, and India will take over the chairship of the next meeting to be hosted in 2021 by India. Dhotre participated in the meeting on behalf of India during the sixth BRICS Communication Ministers' Meeting held virtually.

"Sanjay Dhotre appreciated the field force and the managers of telecom networks who worked as COVID-19 warriors," an official statement said. The meeting saw particiaption of communications ministers from Brazil, China and South Africa.

"The minister also highlighted various initiatives taken by the Indian government for COVID-19 management, such as AarogyaSetu app, Covid Quarantine Alert System (CQAS), CovidSavdhan and ICT solutions to facilitate movement of migrant workers back to their homes," the statement said. During the meeting, Dhotre also talked about the BharatNet project to connect 2,50,000 gram panchayats involving local people through innovative PPP models, and other projects to connect hilly regions of northeast and remote islands of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, according to the statement.