Panel Discussion on ‘Building a Secure, Scalable, and Sovereign Digital India: Strategies for the Next Decade’

Panelist in this video:
+ IPS Sethi, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre
+ Dr P K Singh, Commissioner, Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, India
+ Mukesh Kumar Gupta, Sr. Director-IT, National Informatics Centre
+ Dr. K.P. Karthikeyan, Managing Director, ELCOT, Information Technology and Digital Services Department, Tamil Nadu
+ Jitender Mehta, Director – Cloud Engineering, Oracle India
+ Vinay H. P., Director – IT Business Unit, Rittal
+ Srikanth RP, Editor, Express Computer,The Indian Express Group (Moderator)

Key Highlights:
[1] Dr P K Singh, Commissioner, Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, India:
+ The Agri Stack initiative, launched in the 2023–2024 budget session, aims to geotag all agricultural land and link it with farmer identification. Through the Digital Crop Service, data on seed types, sowing timelines, and ownership is now being captured digitally.

[2] Mukesh Kumar Gupta, Sr. Director-IT, National Informatics Centre:
+ Post the DPDP Act, data minimization and security are critical. Every app we develop now prioritizes collecting only essential data, ensuring user privacy, and managing data sharing within defined timelines while adhering to data protection principles.

[3] Dr. K. P. Karthikeyan, Managing Director, ELCOT, Information Technology and Digital Services Department, Tamil Nadu:
+ With increasing penetration through initiatives like BharatNet, data vulnerabilities also rise. We are focusing on safeguarding sovereign data, tagging grievances, and addressing systemic gaps to ensure secure access and better delivery of government services.

[4] Vinay H. P., Director – IT Business Unit, Rittal:
+ India is moving toward resilient, AI-ready infrastructure by combining scalable design, data security, and government-backed chip initiatives to ensure future performance and self-reliance.

[5] IPS Sethi, Deputy Director General, National Informatics Centre:
+ AI is being used across sectors—from land record security to legal summaries and agricultural support—to solve real-world challenges and ensure accessible, citizen-centric public services.

[6] Jitender Mehta, Director – Cloud Engineering, Oracle India:
+ AI streamlines grievance redressal through automated tagging, sentiment analysis, and smart query routing for faster, accurate responses.