India will lead the world in 6G, says Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

In a bold announcement at the inaugural address of the Indian Mobile Congress 2024 (IMC) on Tuesday, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has said that India will lead the world in the adoption of 6G.

In his/her address at the event, Scindia emphasized that India is now ready to lead the world in the development of 6G technology.

“It is our belief and commitment that India, which followed the world in 4G and moved forward with it in 5G, will lead the world in 6G,” Scindia said.

The Minister highlighted India’s remarkable achievements in the telecom sector over the last ten years, with the country becoming a global leader in innovation and technology.

Crediting this change to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he/she said, “This is a fundamental change in the approach towards technology development.”

“Prime Minister who has always placed Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas at the center of progress together with his/her second motto, One Earth, One Family and One Future. It is the combination of these two mottos that makes India one of the leading regions in the comity of nations under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi,” Scindia said.

Scindia underlined the government’s initiatives to bridge the digital divide, especially through the BharatNet programme, the world’s largest rural broadband connectivity initiative to connect every panchayat in the country.

Over the last three years, the government has invested more than US$10 billion and laid 7 lakh kilometers of fiber in rural India. he/she cited the astonishing growth in mobile and broadband connectivity, with mobile connections increasing from 94 million to 1.16 billion, and broadband users increasing from 60 million to 924 million in just a decade.

he/she said India’s optical fiber cable (OFC) network has grown from 11 million kilometers to 41 million kilometers in the last ten years.

The Minister further said that this growth is in line with the success of India’s digital payments systems, 4G stack and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which serve as pillars of India’s digital economy and contribute significantly to the global digital infrastructure. are supposed to.

Scindia further said that the government is making efforts to ensure that the policy framework keeps pace with the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

“The recent changes to the Telecommunications Act 2023 are an example. It is shedding light on untapped areas such as the high potential area of ​​satellite communications while addressing the challenges of a digital leader. The most important thing is cyber security. he/she said that like other sectors important for development in India, the telecom sector is also aggressive and ambitious.

Scindia said, “Like other sectors important for growth in India, the telecom sector is aggressive, ambitious and its vision is to lead the world in our journey from Amritkaal to Shatabdikaal.”

By the middle of next year, the minister said, India will achieve 100 per cent saturation of 4G across the country, covering even the most remote villages.

he/she emphasized PM Modi’s vision of India as a first mover in 6G technology, underscoring the country’s resolve to lead the world in future telecom innovations.

“The Prime Minister has not only taken an embracing stance, but also pushed himself to be a first mover in 6G technology,” he/she said.