NNA - On 24 February 2025, the Embassy of India, Beirut organised a Seminar on “Promotion of Use of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)” in Movenpick Hotel, Beirut. The Seminar was bifurcated in two sessions: (i) a Panel Discussion moderated by Ambassador H.E. Md. Noor Rahman Sheikh and comprising of four Ministers- HE Mrs. Haneen Sayed, Minister of Social Affairs; HE Dr. Nora Bayrakadarian, Minister of Youth and Sports; HE Dr. Fadi Makki, Minister of State for Administrative Reform; HE Dr. Kamal Shehade, Minister of Displaced Affairs and Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence and CEO, Blom Bank- Dr Amine Awad. The Seminar brought out the possibility of replicating India’s DPI in certain sectors in Lebanon. (ii) Another session which was held virtually with Speakers from India: (a)Mr. Manish Bhardwaj, Deputy Director General of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI): He explained how 1.4 billion Aadhaar (Identity) Cards were issued, Aadhaar is used for Digital Indian platform used for Identity Verification; Financial Inclusion; Access to Government Services; Ease of Doing Business; Social Security. (b)Mr. Anubhav Sharma, Head of International Business, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI): He shared his experience for overseeing the development and implementation of digital payment systems in India – UPI(Unified Payments Interface) (c) Mr. Sumanta Roy, President and Head of Middle East, Africa and Mediterranean, M/s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) based in Dubai: He mentioned ways to make DPI robust and how DPI has been replicated in various countries around the world.
2. The Seminar was attended by the four Ministers, two Members of Parliament and Members of Lebanese-India Parliamentary Friendship Committee (HE Mr. Faysal Al Sayegh; HE Mr. Firas Hamdan), CEO of Blom Bank, Senior officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Telecommunications, Interior Ministry, reputed financial institutions, IT companies, and Professors of various Universities in Lebanon.
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