BhashaNet: Advancing Linguistic Diversity with Universal Acceptance

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In News

• On the occasion of the Universal Acceptance (UA) Day event, the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the BhashaNet portal.

ALL ABOUT NIXI: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/national-internet-exchange-of-india-23#:~:text=The%20National%20Internet%20Exchange%20of%20India%20(NIXI)%20is%20a%20non,internet%20services%20in%20the%20country.

https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/national-internet-exchange-of-india-14

Details

• The portal is aimed at advancing the vision of digital inclusion.
• The event was held with the active support of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).
• BhashaNet aims to create a multilingual internet where local language website names and email IDs work seamlessly everywhere.
• The theme of the event was "BhashaNet: Impetus Towards Universal Acceptance", which reflected NIXI's commitment to enabling full digital participation, regardless of language or script.

Note: Set up on June 19, 2003, the NIXI is tasked to increase Internet penetration and adoption in the country by facilitating various infrastructure aspects to enable the Internet ecosystem to be managed and used by the masses.

It offers IXPs towards building Internet Exchange Points, the .IN Registry towards building the .in domain digital identity, IRINN towards IPv4 and IPv6 addresses adoption, and Data Centre services under NIXI-CSC towards data storage services.

About Universal Acceptance (UA) Day

• The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG) coordinate with the global Internet community to commemmorate the Universal Acceptance (UA) Day on 28 March. 2023 is the inaugural edition of the celebration.
• The intent of this day is to help achieve a more inclusive Internet that supports a broad range of languages and scripts.
• UA Day will be an opportunity to rally local, regional, and global communities and organizations to spread Universal Acceptance (UA) awareness and to encourage UA adoption with key stakeholders.
• The day will consist of UA training, awareness, and strategy sessions held by the Universal Acceptance Steering Group (UASG), ICANN, global partners, and regional and local organizations.

About Univesal Acceptance (UA)

• UA is a technical requirement that ensures all valid domain names and email addresses, regardless of script, language, or character length, can be equally used by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems.
• A cornerstone of today’s global Internet, UA offers many benefits for both individual Internet users as well as the organizations that serve them.
• There are currently approximately five billion Internet users, and at least one billion more are expected to come online. Most of these potential new users live in countries that speak and write in languages other than English.
• Achieving UA ensures everybody has the ability to experience the full social and economic power of the Internet using their chosen domain name and email address that best aligns with their interests, business, culture, language, and script.
• UA is the gateway to a more inclusive and multilingual Internet.
• The Domain Name System (DNS) has expanded dramatically in recent years with the addition of new generic top-level domains (e.g., .photography, .technology).
• These also include Internationalized Domain Names (e.g., एमईआईटीवाई.सरकार.भारत, صحة.مصر,) and country code top-level domains (e.g., .भारत).
• However, while the DNS has evolved, the checks used by many software applications to validate domain names and email addresses remain outdated.
• In addition, not all online portals are primed for the using or opening of a user account with an internationalized email address, leaving many people unable to navigate the Internet using their language and online identity of choice.
• Considered a technical compliance best practice, UA solves these issues by ensuring all valid domain names and email addresses, regardless of script, language, or character length, can be used equally by all Internet-enabled applications, devices, and systems.

PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Examine the feasibility and impact of a multilingual internet, enabling seamless use of local language website names and email IDs. Analyze challenges and propose solutions for technological, cultural, and policy hurdles. Evaluate its significance for digital inclusion and linguistic diversity.