The Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar hosted a breakfast meeting with tech leaders at the sidelines of ITU-WTSA24 and IMC 24 in New Delhi. The gathering offered an open forum for CTOs to discuss the challenges they face and explore potential solutions. Dr. Pemmasani also shared insights on the various government initiatives and encouraged the attendees to share their suggestions for collaboratively Shaping the future of telecommunications.
The meeting was attended by CTOs and industry leaders from prominent telecom companies and start-ups including C-DOT, Bhati Airtel, Reliance Jio, VI, Ericsson, Qualcomm, STL, Altera, Edge-Core, Astrome and Easiofy.
Sharing his vision for the next phase of India’s telecom journey, Dr. Pemmasani stated “India’s telecom story is one of transformation. A decade ago, we were merely a service delivery market; today, we are leading in 5G, IoT ecosystems, and indigenous tech manufacturing. “New India has moved from ‘Made for India’ to ‘Made by India”.
He credited this transformation to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s commitment to self-reliance through the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ mission. He said “His unwavering pursuit of excellence, combined with policies encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, and indigenous capabilities, has empowered India to emerge as a global leader.”
Dr. Pemmasani highlighted the various initiatives taken by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to bolster the Indian telecom ecosystem and spoke about the Telecom Technology Development Fund to promote indigenous design, development, prototyping, and commercialization of advanced telecom technologies. With an annual budget of $60 million, the fund supports projects in 5G, 6G, IoT, and one M2M. It has funded multiple initiatives, including 100 5G labs nationwide.
Additionally, he discussed the steps taken to boost domestic manufacturing, investment, and exports in telecom and networking products, notably the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in 2021. With a $1.4 billion outlay over five years, the scheme offers additional incentive for companies investing in indigenous R&D. It has already attracted over $450 million in investments and generated around $6 billion in sales.
He congratulated the telecom leaders on their efforts to advance the telecom industry, stating “Your work ensures that networks aren’t just infrastructure but powerful enablers of digital inclusion, economic growth, and technological sovereignty. “
He urged the leaders to focus on bringing next-gen technologies—like edge computing and quantum communications—from the ‘lab to life’. “This is our opportunity to lead the rollout of 6G and create partnerships that will unlock new business models for Industry 4.0 and Smart Cities” he said.
Industry leaders emphasised the need to have more use cases for 5G including for narrowband IoTs. They also stressed on the enhanced backhaul fiberisation of Tower.
These discussions and developments are part of the side events of the ongoing WTSA 24 & IMC24 being held in New Delhi. The event marks the beginning of a new chapter in India’s digital journey, reinforcing the country’s commitment to becoming a global leader in advanced communication technologies. WTSA 2024 presents a unique opportunity for India to lead the conversation on global standards, from Open RAN and 6G to AI-powered networks and cybersecurity. IMC 2024, Asia’s largest digital forum, offers a platform to showcase India’s technological prowess and foster collaborations.
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