We in India remember August 15 as our Independence day. We also remember January 26 as our Republic Day. Similarly October 17 is a day to remember as the day when a legally recognized Digital Society was born in India.
On October 17, 2000, the Information Technology Act 2000 (ITA 2000) was notified and legal recognition was provided to electronic document, digital signature, electronic contracts. With this and other provisions of ITA 2000, a new society which uses electronic documents for communication became legally acceptable to the judicial system in India.
Without ITA 2000, an e-mail or a website or an SMS or a WhatsApp message would not be considered as a document equivalent to a document. An offer and an acceptance in electronic document would not constitute a valid contract. We were virtually living in a “Digital Jungle Raj” before October 17, 2000.
Today, we have our Supreme Court and Parliament streaming its proceedings in Court, Parliament , Companies conducting Board Meetings and AGM on line, Digital Contracts being matters of routine, Virtual surgeries tackling matters of life and death all with an assurance of legal recognition. WhatsApp have been accepted as valid method of sending Court notices and digital money has become the order of the day. We could now move to another world of Meta Verse and humanoid robots in the coming days. Internet has become more a serious world of business and Governance and not remained only a world of fun.
Today’s Digital India therefore owes its existence to the fundamental legal changes that ITA 2000 brought to our society. Irrespective of the amendments made or to be made October 17 will for ever remain as the day to remember because of the tectonic shift that occurred this day in the year 2000.
Naavi has been therefore conducting events on October 17 trying to focus on the importance of the day. This year India is getting ready for an overhaul of Digital India regulations. The new Telecom Bill has already been up for discussion. The new Personal Data Protection Bill could be open for public comments soon and discussions on substantial amendment of ITA 2000 could follow.
To remember the day, Naavi.org and FDPPI have organized a webinar and brought together Veterans of ITA 2000 to share their thoughts on how ITA 2000 has evolved over the last 22 years and how it is likely to move further.
The webinar would start at 4.00 pm today (October 17, 2022) on the virtual place, here
You can all participate in this celebration courtesy FDPPI and its supporting members Klickstart Business Solutions & Services LLP and Maruti Quality Management Services.
Look forward to meeting you to celebrate the Digital Society Day of India 2022.
Naavi
