Government should constitute an "Inclusion Framework for Local Languages" under Digital India: Paytm CEO

Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Paytm has opined that there is a need for a vibrant and strong local tech ecosystem.

Sharma was speaking at the special session of the Digital Bharat 2022 - a three-day virtual event organised by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, Ministry for Communication, Government of India and industry chamber FICCI.

The Paytm chief said that technology is critical for any nation's reputation, sovereignty, and self-dependence and alluded to countries which use technology in their local languages.

"Inclusive technology is a foundational requirement for a nation", he said, adding that "language should be the primary barrier that needs to be crossed for any technology inclusion agenda".

Sharma further suggested that industry associations like FICCI should approach the government to enact an inclusion framework for local languages under the Digital India mission. The framework should mandate, among other things, that email addresses could be set up in local languages, leading to acceptance of local languages in user signups, emailing systems, and URL indexation.

He further added that domain registrars should provide recommendations to buyers on the availability of the domain in local languages and stressed the need for setting-up incentives for driving domain registrations in local languages.