The union minister for communications and IT Kapil Sibal on Monday described the internet as an indispensible tool for governance in a free democracy, a tool that could help deliver services to the people transparently and eliminate the go-betweens between the government and the people.

The minister was addressing the curtain raising ceremony of ‘India Internet Governance Conference (IIGC)’ to be held in October in New Delhi.

Sibal categorically stated that there would be no restrictions whatsoever on the use of internet. He, however, appealed to the stakeholders to help evolve a consensus so that a clear-cut roadmap could be developed for the sector.

The conference was organised by FICCI in association with ministry of communications & IT and Internet Society.

The theme of the October conference is ‘Internet for Social and Economic Development: Building the Future Together’ which would aim to provide a platform for an open and inclusive policy dialogue involving the government, business, civil society, technical community and academia. It will traverse a wide range of topics; from network neutrality, to global internet governance models; from effective management of the transition to IPv6, to making broadband access available to all; from the challenges the internet poses to traditional media, to the challenges hate speech online poses for all.