Alkesh Kumar Sharma, the Indian government's secretary for electronics and information technology, was appointed to a panel of experts on internet governance by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Leadership Panel, which consists of 10 people, now includes Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Nobel Prize–winning journalist Maria Reesa.

Amandeep Singh Gill, Guterres' representative for technology, will also be on the panel.

The group was established in accordance with the IGF's mandate and the guidance provided in Guterres' Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.

The panel's role is to deal with ‘strategic and urgent issues’ of the Internet and provide strategic advice to the IGF.

Sharma is a member of the Kerala cadre of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).

Former diplomat Gill served as the head of the International Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence Research Collaborative and served as India's permanent representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament (I-DAIR).

Since he contributed to the creation of TCP/IP and the internet's architecture, two standards that make it possible for programs and devices to communicate over digital networks, Cerf is frequently referred to as "the father of the internet."

Reesa, a journalist of Filipino and American descent who had been detained in her native Philippines, was awarded the Nobel Prize for her "efforts to defend freedom of expression."

Sharma served as the national project director for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation for the UN Development Program while serving as a secretary in the Cabinet secretariat.