.भारत (.BHARAT) Country Code Top Level DOMAIN (ccTLD) NAME

The government on Wednesday launched the .bharat domain name in devanagari script covering eight languages including Hindi, Konkani and Marathi.With the launch, individuals of companies who are interested in owning a website with domain name in Hindi language would be able to book the name in Hindi script.The name would have '.bharat' in Hindi script as its extension instead of commonly top level domains such as .com, .net or .in.

1.   In order to reach the benefits of the Internet to a larger part of the population use of local scripts and languages will be very critical. 

1.1    Internet Domain Names play an important role towards proliferation of Internet and its applications.  Today almost all applications of Internet in education, commerce, governance, health sector, and entertainment are carried out through the web portals having Internet domain Names. 

1.2   The domain names in local languages  are  called Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs).  IDNs 4 

 enable  common  users to navigate  through  the Internet in their  local languages. One can have domain names in  his/her local language  for example in Hindi, that the domain name will look like  www.रजिसरी.भारत  

1.3    IDNs have the potential to transform the Internet into a truly global and multilingual tool by enabling Internet users to navigate and communicate online in their preferred script/language. Keeping this in view and as part of “Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)  fast track process”,  the use of local language in country code top level domains was initiated in 2010.   India has 22 official languages which get written majorly in 11 scripts.  Some of the scripts support several languages e.g.  Devanagari  script is used to write 11 official languages out of which 8 share the ccTLD .भारत which are 

Bodo(Boro), Dogri, Hindi, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, and Sindhi- . 

2. Introduction / Overview 

2.1    Internet domain names in local language also referred to as IDNs have assumed greater significance in the recent times with  the  Internet increasingly being used by diverse group of people all over the world as an effective medium for commerce, education, governance and communication. Therefore,  in order  to have a larger presence in the Internet space,  the  role of  internet domain names  in Indian scripts  is an important element.  Initially .Bharat (.भारत) in Devanagari script will be rolled out. 

2.2    An  IDN  policy would mainly determine how conveniently an  IDN second level name could be registered and maintained for the large number of Internet subscribers and addresses in the Indian languages.  It will need to address, among other questions, the following:  

•   What are the domains available for registration?  

•   Are there any restrictions in registering domain names?  

•   Where can domain names be registered – including whether there is   

a single   source or a distributed chain of Registrars?  

•  What prices are charged for registration, and what services  do 

registrants receive in turn?  

• Why a registrant would prefer to register an IDN?  

• Is the process of registration simple, efficient, and reliable?  

2.3      Apart from the  policy, any Registry would  need to meet the following criteria:  

 Security: Registries should be resistant to hacking, and must also   withstand denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The hardware and software requirements for such secure systems are high. 

  Reliability :   Various user entities – government, businesses, citizens –  rely on the Web sites and e-mail messaging that  domain names enable. A Registry should provide   reliable service, with 100% uptime.  6 

Scalability :  The Registry infrastructure should accommodate growth  without interruptions.  Adherence to        The Internet functions well only when the concerned Technical Standards   Agencies collaborate to create and maintain inter operable technical standards. Registry should adhere to such standards and practices announced by ICANN and other relevant technical standards bodies.  

2.4     In order, therefore, to proliferate  .भारत  domain names, a policy framework is instituted, which is open and market friendly, to help brand ".भारत" in a big way and achieve its rightful place in the Internet space that it deserves. 

3.     INTERNATIONALIZED DOMAIN NAMES (IDNs)  

Internationalized Domain Names are domain names or web addresses represented in local language characters.   

 4.      .IN IDN Policy Framework & Implementation 

 The  zones  सरकार.भारत  and  शिका.भारत  will  be reserved for the Government,  and  Educational institutions respectively. The registrations at the 3rd level in these zones will be carried out by the Government, or an institution identified by the Government. Taking into account the Internet 

services offered in their respective sectors, .सरकार.भारत  registration will be 

handled by NIC, शिका.भारत by ERNET, as Registrars in these zones.  

The registrar account will be common across both the ASCII name (.IN) and the IDN name(.भारत).  This means that the registrar does not have to fund two separate accounts, rather he/she can simply utilize funds in one account with NIXI in order to register second level domains in the .भारत TLD. 

  The Registrars will be charged Rs. 350/- per domain name for 2nd level and Rs 250/- for 3rd level domain name by the Registry for registration valid for a period of one year. A Registrar may also register a domain name up to a 14 

maximum of 10  years by paying the applicable registration amount of Rs. 

3500/- or Rs 2500/- respectively to the .IN Registry.
Source: Read More (www.cdac.in)