ICANN85 Meeting in Mumbai to Focus on Multilingual Internet and New gTLD Expansion

Event summary

  • ICANN's 85th Public Meeting will be held in Mumbai from 7–12 March 2026, hosted by NIXI under MeitY.
  • Key topics include the New gTLD Program launch in April 2026 and advancing a multilingual Internet.
  • The meeting follows the UN's WSIS+20 reaffirmation of the multistakeholder model for Internet governance.
  • ICANN Community Excellence Award to be presented during the Welcome Ceremony on 9 March 2026.

The big picture

ICANN85 comes at a critical juncture for Internet governance, with the New gTLD Program poised to reshape the domain name landscape. The meeting underscores India's growing influence in global Internet policy, particularly as the country pushes for a more inclusive, multilingual digital ecosystem. The WSIS+20 reaffirmation of the multistakeholder model adds urgency to ICANN's role in maintaining a unified, interoperable Internet amid rising fragmentation risks.

What we're watching

gTLD Expansion Impact
How the next round of the New gTLD Program will affect domain name market dynamics and Internet accessibility.
Multistakeholder Model
Whether ICANN can sustain global consensus on Internet governance amid evolving geopolitical tensions.
Multilingual Internet Adoption
The pace at which non-English top-level domains gain traction in emerging markets like India.

Related topics

Technology