National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI)

Why in News?

Recently, NIXI marked the completion of one year of its Internet Governance Internship & Capacity Building Scheme (IGICBS).

The Internet Governance Internship & Capacity Building Scheme (IGICBS) aims to build awareness and develop expertise in internet governance (IG) among Indian citizens.

• NIXI is a non-profit organization under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.
• Aim – To improve India's internet infrastructure and digital inclusion and enable the exchange of domestic internet traffic within India.
• Nodal Ministry – The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
• Functions – NIXI serves as a neutral platform to facilitate traffic exchange among Internet Service Providers (ISPs), content delivery networks (CDNs), and other network operators.
• Direct peering and exchange – It allow them to connect their networks to swap traffic directly, rather than routing it through expensive third-party transit providers.
• This reduces latency by avoiding multiple international routing hops and improves overall Quality of Service (QoS) for internet users.
• Key divisions and services – NIXI primarily perform 3 operations through its divisions.
• Internet Exchange (IX NIXI) – Helps ISPs connect and share internet traffic within India.
• INRegistry – Operates and manages India’s .IN country code top level domain (ccTLD).
  • The Govt. of India delegated the operations of INRegistry to NIXI in 2004.
• Indian Registry for Internet Names and Numbers (IRINN) – It is responsible for managing the National Internet Registry (NIR) in India.
• Also instrumental in representing India’s position in global internet governance forums.
• Significance – Data Security – Helps reduce the risk of Indian internet data being intercepted by foreign agencies.
• Network Reliability – Ensures continuity of internet services during cyber threats, cable disruptions, or natural disasters through a strong domestic infrastructure.
• Future-Ready Internet – Supports next-generation internet requirements driven by smart devices and intelligent systems through adoption of Internet Protocol version 6.
• Digital Inclusion – Makes the internet more inclusive by supporting small internet service providers and expanding connectivity in remote and underserved areas.

References

1. PIB | NIXI
2. NIXI - About Us