International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Table of Contents

International Telecommunication Union (ITU)- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.

India has secured a leadership position in the Council Standing Committee on Administration and Management of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
An Indian official has been appointed as vice-chairperson of the Council Standing Committee on Administration and Management of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

International Telecommunication Union at Council meetings held at Geneva from 21^stMarch till 31^st March, 2022.
Ms. Aprajita Sharrma, an IP&TAF Service officer from the 1995 batch has been appointed as the vice-chair of the Standing Committee on Administration and Management.
Ms. Aprajita Sharrma will remain as vice-chairperson of the Council Standing Committee for the years 2023 and 2024 and its chairperson for the years 2025 and 2026.

अंतर्राष्ट्रीय दूरसंचार संघ (आईटीयू) | भारत में अपने नेतृत्व की स्थिति सुरक्षित की

About: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations’ specialized agency for information and communication.
Mandate: The ITU primarily deals with practical and technical questions within three main sectors-
- Allocating radio frequencies and managing satellite orbit and access technologies (ITU-R);
- Developing technical telecommunication standards (ITU-T); and
- Supporting development efforts to improve global access to ICT (ITU-D).
Membership: The ITU’s membership includes 193 Member States of the UN and over 700 Sector Members, representing various categories of players from the telecommunications industry.

The ITU Constitution and Convention establishes the binding and global framework for international telecommunications and sets out the structure of the Union.
The Constitution and Convention are complemented by the legally binding Administrative Regulations, which are divided into International Telecommunication Regulations (ITRs) and Radio Regulations.
Various bodies of the ITU also adopt non-binding instruments such as recommendations, resolutions and decisions.

The ITU is governed by the Plenipotentiary Conference and the Administrative Council.

The Plenipotentiary Conference is the supreme organ of the International Telecommunication Union.
- It is the decision-making body that determines the direction of the International Telecommunication Union and its activities.
ITU Administrative Council: It acts as the Union’s governing body in the interval between Plenipotentiary Conferences.
- Its role is to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union’s activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today’s dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.