Minister of state for communications and rural development has inaugurated the second edition of the COAI DIGICOM SUMMIT 2026 in Delhi. The summit is themed “India’s Techade: Accelerating and Shaping the Digital Future.” Speaking at the event, he said that India has come a long way and that the changes in the telecom sector have been transformative. He noted that technology is not standing still and that 6G, artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum represent the next wave, which is both exciting and challenging. Emphasising collaboration, he stated that a strong telecom sector is built by both government and industry.
In his address, he highlighted that under the government has re-engineered nearly every major lever of telecom policy. The Telecommunications Act, 2023 marks the first comprehensive rewrite of India’s telecom law in nearly 140 years, providing clear authorisation frameworks, stronger consumer protection and provisions for emerging technologies. The Reforms Package of 2021 restored predictability for financial viability through rationalised adjusted gross revenue (AGR), a four-year moratorium on past dues, removal of bank guarantees and a path to equity conversion. right-of-way reforms through the Gati Shakti Sanchar portal have rationalised fees and streamlined clearances, reducing timelines significantly. Spectrum rationalisation has been undertaken through the National Frequency Allocation Plan 2025 and predictable auction timelines.
He also highlighted that India’s BharatNet is the largest rural broadband programme anywhere in the world and aims to connect over 0.26 million gram panchayats, with long-term operation and maintenance built in. Citizen protection architecture comprising Sanchar Saathi, Digital Intelligence Platform, Chakshu and ASTR has also been established at a massive scale, which is the most comprehensive policy support architecture that the telecom sector has received in its history.
Recognising industry contributions, the minister noted that the 5G rollout was completed in roughly 22 months with over 0.51 million base stations and more than 400 million subscribers. India has a subscriber base of over 1.22 billion, among the lowest tariffs globally and among the highest per-user data consumption. Sectoral gross revenue grew by 10.7 per cent in financial year 2024-25 (FY25) to Rs 3.72 trillion, while foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows of over Rs 2.4 trillion up to June 2025 indicate strong foreign capital confidence.
Further, on manufacturing, the minister highlighted progress under the product linked incentive scheme for telecom and networking products with Rs 121.95 billion outlay, 42 companies approved, cumulative sales exceeding Rs 650 billion and exports over Rs 120 billion. The telecom technology development fund has supported indigenous research and development (R&D) with projects worth Rs 5.42 billion.
Addressing spam and digital fraud, the minister outlined measures including Sanchar Saathi, ASTR disconnecting over 8.8 million fraudulent connections, Chakshu reporting growth and the Digital Intelligence Platform onboarding over 1,200 organisations. The financial fraud risk indicator has prevented approximately Rs 23 billion in losses, and a Department of Telecommunications and State Bank of India memorandum of understanding was signed recently. He noted the increasing sophistication of threats and called for strengthened know your customer, deployment of calling name presentation, improved filtering of spoofed international calls and enhanced intelligence sharing.
Furthermore, on R&D, the minister observed that while the telecom sector generated Rs 3.72 trillion in FY25, Indian operators spend less than 1 per cent of their revenue on R&D, compared to 15–25 per cent by global majors. He emphasised that the Bharat 6G Vision requires greater industry participation in R&D.
The minister concluded that India is at an inflection point, with policy support, infrastructure, talent and scale in place, and called for ambition to match the opportunity.
