The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will hold its 85th Public Meeting in Mumbai from March 7 through March 12, 2026. The event, known as ICANN85, is hosted by the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). For ICANN, this meeting arrives at a rare inflection point. For India, it places the country squarely at the center of global Internet coordination.
India’s scale alone makes the location hard to ignore. With more than one billion Internet users and a fast-growing digital economy, the country reflects both the promise and pressure facing today’s Internet. ICANN85 brings global stakeholders together in a place where Internet policy debates feel tangible, local, and immediate.
Why ICANN85 Is More Than Another Public Meeting
This marks the first ICANN Public Meeting in India since Hyderabad a decade ago. According to Samiran Gupta, ICANN Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Managing Director for Asia Pacific, the Mumbai forum gives the Indian Internet community direct access to global discussions that shape how the Internet operates.
That access cuts both ways. ICANN meetings are working sessions. Policy moves forward. Technical standards get tested. Disagreements surface in plain view. Participants leave with homework, not souvenirs.
The New gTLD Program Takes Center Stage
A Narrow Window for Big Decisions
ICANN85 lands just weeks before the next application round for the New gTLD Program opens in April. New gTLDs, or generic top-level domains, are the suffixes that appear to the right of the dot in a domain name. Examples include familiar options like .com and newer extensions such as .bank or .music.
This upcoming round represents a rare chance. Businesses, governments, cultural groups, and communities can apply for their own top-level domains. These domains can reflect geography, language, brand identity, or shared purpose. The rules, fees, safeguards, and timelines around those applications will be a primary focus in Mumbai.
For organizations considering a gTLD, ICANN85 functions as a final briefing before decisions turn expensive and binding.
Language, Scripts, and Access at Scale
A recurring theme at ICANN85 is the push for a truly multilingual Internet. That phrase carries weight in India, where hundreds of languages and scripts coexist online. Domain names written in local scripts allow users to reach services without switching alphabets or cultural context.
This approach aligns closely with India’s national digital priorities. It also supports ICANN’s long-term objective of maintaining a single Internet that works everywhere, for everyone, without fragmentation.
WSIS+20 Sets the Backdrop
ICANN85 is the first Public Meeting since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the WSIS+20 Outcomes Document in December 2025. The document reaffirmed that the Internet remains a shared global resource and that its stability depends on cooperation among governments, businesses, civil society, and technical experts.
That cooperative structure, often referred to as the multistakeholder model, sits at the core of ICANN’s mandate. India’s government has voiced strong support for this approach, framing ICANN85 as both a continuation and a recommitment.
WSIS+20 did not close a chapter. It reopened the conversation. ICANN85 extends that conversation by bringing new participants into policy development and reinforcing the expectation that Internet governance remains open, participatory, and accountable.
Recognizing Community Leadership
The ICANN Community Excellence Award will be presented during the Welcome Ceremony on March 9, 2026. The award honors individuals who have contributed time, expertise, and patience to consensus-based outcomes within ICANN.
In an environment where progress often arrives slowly, this recognition highlights the quiet work that keeps global coordination functioning.
Registration and Participation
Attendance at ICANN85 is free and open to the public. In-person registration remains available through March 6, 2026, with no on-site registration option. Sessions span technical briefings, policy debates, and open forums where newcomers and veterans sit at the same microphone.
For anyone involved in domain names, Internet policy, or digital governance, Mumbai is not just a destination. It is a checkpoint.
ICANN85 underscores a simple truth. The Internet does not run itself. It runs because people show up, argue constructively, document decisions, and return to do it again.