MUMBAI — In a major development aimed at fortifying the foundation of the nation’s digital landscape, the Asia-Pacific Network Information Centre (APNIC) and the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) have officially entered into a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The agreement marks a renewed, shared commitment between the two major bodies to enhance the long-term security, resilience, and technological evolution of India’s rapidly expanding Internet infrastructure.
The high-profile agreement was formally executed on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, during the APNIC 62 conference held in Mumbai. The signing ceremony was led by APNIC Director General Jia Rong Low and NIXI Chief Executive Officer Dr. Devesh Tyagi. Adding significant weight to the event, the proceedings were witnessed by key dignitaries and representatives from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), the Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI), alongside distinguished members of the APNIC Executive Council.
This collaborative framework is designed to address the unique challenges and opportunities presented by India’s massive digital economy. Through this partnership, APNIC and NIXI will pool their technical expertise and resources to drive deeper deployment of advanced Internet protocols and core routing security frameworks, specifically focusing on IPv6 and Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) technologies across enterprise environments and network operator networks throughout the country.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, APNIC Director General Jia Rong Low highlighted India’s trailblazing position in the global digital ecosystem, noting the country’s unprecedented scale of adoption.
"India is the global leader in IPv6 adoption, with the largest IPv6-enabled user populations in the world," said APNIC Director General Jia Rong Low. "This achievement reflects the commitment of India’s Internet community, industry, and government to building future-ready digital infrastructure. Through this partnership with NIXI, we look forward to supporting the next stage of India’s Internet journey, working towards further IPv6 adoption and strengthening routing security to support the long-term development of India’s Internet infrastructure."
Strengthening routing security
As India’s digital footprint expands at an exponential rate, safeguarding the underlying routing architecture has emerged as a top national and regional priority. Under the newly established MoU, a core area of emphasis will be accelerating RPKI deployment and widespread adoption among local stakeholders. Building upon the solid and growing coverage of Route Origin Authorizations (ROAs) already established across India, APNIC and NIXI will actively engage with network operators and major enterprises to implement Route Origin Validation (ROV), which stands as another vital component of a secure RPKI framework.
The integration of ROV allows participating networks to independently verify BGP announcements and automatically identify and reject invalid route advertisements. This defensive capability provides a critical layer of protection against accidental routing misconfigurations and potential malicious route hijacking incidents, thereby safeguarding the integrity of data transit across national and international boundaries.
As part of these collaborative measures, NIXI has also agreed to partner with APNIC on a critical pilot project involving the deployment of an RPKI repository mirror directly within India. This localized mirror aims to evaluate whether hosting the repository infrastructure domestically can significantly improve local access speeds and data retrieval times for RPKI information, while simultaneously enhancing overall system resilience. In tandem with the physical infrastructure deployment, both organizations will champion industry-wide routing security best practices to educate and guide local network operators.
Expanding technical skills
Recognizing that advanced technical infrastructure requires a highly skilled workforce to operate and maintain it, the MoU outlines a comprehensive framework aimed at expanding technical training, education, and professional development programs across India.
The collaborative strategy involves developing robust local training facilities and specialized laboratory infrastructure. Furthermore, the partners will institute a specialized "Train-the-Trainer" (TTT) program intended to cultivate a self-sustaining pool of local technical experts and educators. These educational initiatives will encompass a blend of online instruction and face-to-face workshops tailored specifically for NIXI peering participants, affiliates of the Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN), and a diverse array of technical stakeholders spanning the entire Indian subcontinent.
By fostering local expertise, the initiative seeks to ensure that the growth of India’s Internet architecture is supported by home-grown talent capable of navigating complex routing and network security challenges.
Looking ahead
Reflecting on the strategic importance of the collaboration, Dr. Devesh Tyagi emphasized that the partnership represents a decisive milestone in NIXI’s ongoing mission to foster a secure, self-reliant, and future-proof digital environment for the nation.
"India’s Internet ecosystem is entering a new phase of scale and responsibility, and our infrastructure must lead from a position of strength—secure, resilient, and built for what comes next," said Dr. Tyagi. "On routing security, India is doing very well in terms of RPKI ROA, and this partnership with APNIC allows us to build directly on that momentum—extending our focus to ROV."
Dr. Tyagi further pointed out that India has established itself as a frontrunner in Autonomous System Provider Authorization (ASPA) adoption, demonstrating an active, ongoing national commitment to top-tier routing security standards. Because a relatively small number of large network operators manage and carry the vast majority of India’s total Internet traffic, targeted ROV adoption by these primary networks alone has the potential to profoundly secure the entire economic and operational routing landscape.
"This partnership will help us work closely with these networks, along with the wider operator and enterprise community, to build the technical expertise and infrastructure needed to safeguard the integrity of Internet routing across the region," Dr. Tyagi added.
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