Importance of October 17 for India

October 17 is significant for the Digital Society in India since it was on October 17, 2000, that Information Technology Act 2000

Information Technology Act

The Information Technology Act 2000 is an Act of the Indian Parliament notified on October 17, 2000.-History of the Act:...

, the first law of the digital society in India was notified. This notification gave for the first time in the country, legal recognition for electronic documents. It also provided a legally recognized method of authentication of electronic documents by means of digital signatures. Additionally, Information Technology Act 2000 recognized Cyber Crimes and prescribed a fast track grievance redressal mechanism for Cyber Crimes

These provisions were critical for the development of digital society since it enabled digital contracts to be formed in support of e-commerce and e-governance. It is therefore appropriate that the day be remembered as an important event in the e-history of India.
Cyber Law College http://www.cyberlawcollege.com was the first organization in India to recognize October 17 as a "Digital Society Day" and undertake specific programmes related to the fulfillment of the objectives of the Information technology Act.
Digital Society Foundation http://www.dsfoundation.in of India, a Charitable Trust promoted by Naavi the founder of Cyber Law College has also started several activities to encourage the participation of the community in creating better awareness of Cyber Laws in India.

October 17 also being the Poverty Alleviation Day, and Poverty Alleviation through ICT being the theme of the WSIS, Digital Society Foundation is undertaking projects that would help Digital Society contribute to the alleviation of poverty in rural India.

The formal celebration of the day started in 2006 at Bangalore where in an event organized by Digital Society Foundation, a trust promoted by Cyber Law College October 17 formally declared as the Digital Society Day by the honourable Judge of Karnataka High Court Sri N Kumar.Since then, this historic day has been commemorated each with activities of interest to the digital society in India.