10:00 - 11:30
12:00 - 12:10
12:15 - 12:45
12:45 - 12:55
13:15 - 14:45
14:00 - 16:30
15:00 - 15:30
While space utilisation, for a number of social, economic, and security functions, has grown, this dependence on space has also given way to vulnerabilities because of the growth of counter-space capabilities. Failure to secure space as a global common will put at stake its safe, sustainable, and uninterrupted use in the near-medium term. In this context, the new Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on space security held its first round of discussions in May 2022, holding some promise as well as challenges in the face of the Ukraine conflict.
15:30 - 16:00
The Australia-India relationship is in a sunrise phase, with unprecedented alignment on their vision for a rules-based, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific. These warming ties have opened up new causeways for collaboration, on cutting edge spaces like quantum tech, blockchain, AI, future communications, biotech and more. How can the two countries deepen the relationship and take it beyond Sydney and New Delhi? In the absence of consensus in the Indo-Pacific, can India and Australia forge the way?
16:00 - 16:10
16:10 - 16:20
16:25 - 17:15
The gig economy has grown dramatically over the last decade. As independent contractors, gig workers do not enjoy the protection afforded by labour laws and social security. Internationally, there have been several calls for reclassifying gig workers, but these are yet to translate into robust regulatory frameworks. In this context, how can legal classification of "labour" be calibrated for 21st century jobs? Could platform agnostic reforms to existing labour and social protection laws, as with South Korea in 2020 or India's Code on Social Security, offer a solution? Should social protection be de-linked from the workplace? How can we rebalance bargaining power parity between platforms and gig workers?
16:25 - 17:15
The gig economy has grown dramatically over the last decade. As independent contractors, gig workers do not enjoy the protection afforded by labour laws and social security. Internationally, there have been several calls for reclassifying gig workers, but these are yet to translate into robust regulatory frameworks. In this context, how can legal classification of "labour" be calibrated for 21st century jobs? Could platform agnostic reforms to existing labour and social protection laws, as with South Korea in 2020 or India's Code on Social Security, offer a solution? Should social protection be de-linked from the workplace? How can we rebalance bargaining power parity between platforms and gig workers?
Head of Policy, South India and Sri Lanka, Uber, IndiaModerator
17:30 - 18:00
17:30 - 18:00
18:10 - 19:00
In 2022, Digital India turned seven. India’s digital economy has become a major driver of its growth, fuelling its rapid post-pandemic recovery as well. Despite the economic turmoil caused by COVID-linked lockdowns, its 2021 service exports surpassed 2019 levels within the first quarter of the year. The scope, scale, and ambition of its digital infrastructure have also fuelled India’s digital partnerships with countries seeking to build DPIs of their own. After nearly a decade of providing creative, lean solutions to socio-economic challenges, can India now export its digital offerings? As it takes the helm of the G20 in December, how should it position itself to shape frameworks that will govern critical digital economy issues in a way that reflects the aspirations of emerging economies and promotes responsible innovation?
18:10 - 19:00
In 2022, Digital India turned seven. India’s digital economy has become a major driver of its growth, fuelling its rapid post-pandemic recovery as well. Despite the economic turmoil caused by COVID-linked lockdowns, its 2021 service exports surpassed 2019 levels within the first quarter of the year. The scope, scale, and ambition of its digital infrastructure have also fuelled India’s digital partnerships with countries seeking to build DPIs of their own. After nearly a decade of providing creative, lean solutions to socio-economic challenges, can India now export its digital offerings? As it takes the helm of the G20 in December, how should it position itself to shape frameworks that will govern critical digital economy issues in a way that reflects the aspirations of emerging economies and promotes responsible innovation?
19:30 - 21:00
19:30 - 21:00
A spectre is haunting our digital worlds, the spectre of "Red Tech", the hardware, software, rules, and protocols are shaped by the Communist Party of China. As China’s economic influence and technological capabilities have grown, it has sought to exercise its influence beyond its borders by manipulating global publics, and exerting control over the channels through which data and technologies flow. How should open societies, sworn to protect the rule-of-law and safeguard their citizens from harms posed by malicious actors, band together and bulwark their systems and institutions?
Moderator
21:30 - 22:20
05:30 - 05:30
The way people interact in the virtual world is an imperfect copy of how they navigate real-world dynamics. In some ways, it amplifies inequalities, in others, it empowers and enables new kinds of expression and agency, allowing one to find communities that are singularly one's own. From work and commerce to love and community, what are the unique ways in which women navigate online spaces? How do they exercise agency and consent? As women claim ownership over their online selves, are we witnessing the first dying breaths of old sexist dogmas?
05:30 - 05:30
Web 3.0 heralds a truly immersive and inclusive experience, while maintaining privacy and user agency. However, the current trajectory of the web does not yet promise a natural transition: We may well be heading towards two or more “splinternets”. Some jurisdictions may exercise strict controls on the flows of information and value, while others may invite investments on the basis of regulatory arbitrage. With multiple possible futures, is international coordination a prerequisite to maximising market and societal welfare stemming from Web3? Can groupings such as the G20 imbue Web3 with core principles like access and accountability?
05:30 - 05:30
Digital services are essential services akin to hospitals, electricity, and water. While cutting communication lines in times of war is not without precedent—Britain pioneered cable-cutting during World War I—the consequences of interruption of digital services today have far-reaching consequences. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the suspension of essential digital services have sent alarm bells ringing in capitals across the developing world. Do multinational tech giants have a duty to ensure continuity of digital services during conflicts and other national emergencies? Should certain tech companies be considered an actor with responsibilities at par with the state in the application of international humanitarian law? Is the suspension of essential digital services a violation of humanitarian law?
05:30 - 05:30
Supply chains are necessarily global, but in an era of "vulnerable interdependence", states are building their own capabilities, rules, and institutions to protect domestic innovation. With Semicon, India joins the global race to shape global semiconductor supply chains, joining the likes of the EU Chips Act, the US' CHIPS and Science Act, and China's national IC Act. Where should countries like India, that are hoping to become a leader in this space, focus their investments? In the midst of successive US bans on Chinese equipment, what are the emerging gaps and opportunities in semiconductor supply chains? Should countries seek a niche, along with the risks that come with becoming a bottleneck in the supply chain? Or should they hedge their bets on uncertain future trends, in search of windfall?
05:30 - 05:30
09:00 - 11:30
Quantum computing has rapidly moved from concept to real world applications, including quantum cryptography and simulations. It has also opened up a new stream of ethical inquiry, with new questions about progress, governance, and norms. Where is India placed in the race to quantum supremacy? Do other paradigm-shifting technologies, like nuclear and AI, provide adequate parallels? With growing conflict among the techno-economic haves and have nots, will quantum technology go the atom bomb way? (Registration required)
10:00 - 10:30
10:15 - 11:05
10:30 - 12:00
With electric vehicles finding acceptance as an alternative to the internal combustion engine, policymakers must now identify the right policy mix if the EV transition is to be sustained in the long run. What lessons can be taken from the existing experience with implementing stringent regulations for EV adoption? How can policymakers effectively address safety and data privacy concerns associated with EVs? What would a complementary policy mix for EVs ideally look like for a developing economy given budgetary constraints and industrial ambitions? (Invite Only)
11:05 - 11:55
Authoritarian regimes have tightened their legislative grip over the online public square, punishing divergent views. Through such control, they advance their influence in the domestic sphere, while undermining democratic ideals beyond their shores. Concurrently, open societies find themselves vulnerable both to interference by belligerent regimes, as well as tech giants that are unable or unwilling to respond to the concerns of “smaller” markets. These regimes are enacting national laws that are more cognizant of local contexts. Is the splinternet an unavoidable consequence of unaccountable tech giants? Can sovereign control over digital spaces co-exist with absolutist notions of free speech?
12:00 - 12:30
12:30 - 14:00
15:05 - 15:35
15:45 - 15:55
15:55 - 16:25
16:25 - 17:20
All great startups begin with an innovative idea, often identifying a gap in the market that bigger enterprises are not agile enough to fill. Yet, for an idea to bloom, it must be supported by well-crafted policies, and an ecosystem of skilling, financing, and access to tools. How can governments, accelerators, and communities help power the new generation of startups, especially those led by women, that seek to better the daily lives of people? How does one scale their enterprises and grow the user/customer base while staying true to the initial vision? Is it time for investors to move beyond large startup hubs and look to the grassroots, where profits are secondary to the upliftment of the most excluded?
17:20 - 17:30
17:30 - 17:40
17:40 - 17:50
17:50 - 18:40
Countries with robust DPGs have been able to build back better, withstand geopolitical shocks, and generate value in advancement of their digital economies. As India takes the helm of the G20 in 2023, it is uniquely positioned to bring DPIs into the broader global digital agenda. India is a leader on this subject, and has enabled access to government services and private innovation, especially for the last mile. Of particular relevance is the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA), which seeks to create a data architecture that puts power back into the hands of users. With efforts being made to institutionalise DPGs in different parts of the world, how can the G20 help build, finance, and deploy DPGs within the grouping and beyond?
18:40 - 18:50
18:50 - 19:40
In the information overload age, attention is a scarce resource. Big Tech platforms, which began with the noble intention of connecting people, building communities, and exchanging ideas, rely on opaque algorithms for profit, sometimes at the cost of the user. Can we escape the vicious cycle of “auto-play” and bite-sized content? How must we reimagine the economics of attention and data in a way that upholds the dignity of users, and promotes creative engagement over passive consumption?
20:00 - 21:30
22:00 - 22:50
What is the "correct" balance between the rights of the individual on the one hand, and national security and profit on the other? Digital surveillance, whether under the watchful eye of the government or to feed into commercial algorithms, must be bound by principles like necessity and proportionality that govern these operations in the physical realm. While surveillance is generally accepted as a regular function of the state, when does the "reasonable" cross a red line? Or is the act of surveillance value neutral, whose ethics are determined by who is behind the screen as well as in front of it?
05:30 - 05:30
28 October 2022 Please note, all timings are in Indian Standard Time IST (GMT +5:30)
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