India, Japan can work together to tackle cyber crimes: Prasad

Minister for Communications and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said India and Japan could leverage each other’s prowess in technology to jointly work in areas like green technologies, cyber security and ICT (information and communication technologies) development. Speaking at the second meeting of the India-Japan joint working group on ICT, Mr. Prasad said the Indian government had launched a massive programme to digitalise administrative functioning with the sole objective of improving efficiency and delivery of services. “India has taken a big leap forward in letting technology play a pivotal role in brining about the much needed change in governance in India. With friends like Japan, there is a natural scope to help us in achieving this objective,” he added. This is the second meeting of the group, which was formed in October 2013 to boost bilateral trade in the field of ICT. Mr. Prasad is leading the Indian delegation, while Yasuo Sakamoto, Vice Minister for Policy Coordination, International Affairs, is heading the Japan team. Mr. Prasad said the programme will benefit greatly with the help of a tested ally like Japan, which has established supremacy in ICT. It is also expected to help in increasing trade manifold between both the countries, which is currently about one per cent. The group is also exploring cooperation in national ID application and utilisation project. Yasuo Sakamoto said the economic cooperation between the two countries is on the verge of a new turning point and the opportunities are abundant. He added that entrepreneurs from both the countries can collaborate in fields of cyber security or green ICT. PTI