According to Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Communications and Development of Northeastern Region, the government has prioritised connectivity for every citizen across the nation. The initiatives of Department of Telecommunications (DoT) aim to ensure that digital and infrastructural links are ubiquitous, facilitating access to essential services and opportunities. He emphasised that maintaining this connectivity is crucial for fostering inclusive growth and development throughout India.

Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications and Minister of State Rural Development and Scindia addressed the media on achievements of the Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DONER) in 100 days of government in New Delhi.

Scindia pointed out that DoT has successfully completed several key initiatives as part of government’s 100-day programme. As per him, DoT has made significant strides in strengthening the four goals of a developed telecom ecosystem – Samaveshit (ubiquitous connectivity fuelling inclusive growth), Viksit (developed India through triad of perform, reform, and transform), Tvarit (accelerated development and swift resolution), and Surakshit (safely and securely). The major achievements of 100-day programme include:

Samaveshit

  • 4G coverage to uncovered villages/ locations across India- Under various initiatives funded by the Digital Bharat Nidhi (Erstwhile Universal Service Obligation Fund), 4G mobile coverage is being expanded to uncovered villages across India. These efforts are focused on regions such as aspirational districts, the North-Eastern region, border areas, islands, and areas affected by left-wing extremism. A total of 7,101 4G mobile towers have been commissioned by telecom service providers (TSPs) (Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and BSNL) under various Digital Bharat Nidhi funded 4G schemes including 4G saturation scheme. Out of these 4G towers 2,618 towers have been made on-air since June 2024.
  • Expansion of 5G mobile networks- 5G technology has reached almost all districts of India. As of today, 98 per cent districts in India have presence of 5G technology thereby empowering citizens with highspeed data network. 5G networks have been rolled out in all states/ union territories (UTs) across India and more than 0.45 million 5G base transceiver stationshave been installed across the country.

Viksit

  • 6G accelerated research assistance- The government launched Bharat 6G Vision in March 2023 with the objective to be a front-line contributor in design, development, and deployment of 6G technology by 2030. In line with the Bharat 6G Vision and to support India’s prominence in 6G technology and develop the 6G radio access network for the world, DoT invited proposals from academia, industry, and other bodies engaged in research and development (R&D). So far 111 project proposals have been processed for funding to expedite the research under ‘Accelerated research on 6G Ecosystem’.
  • 100 5G labs- Labs with indigenously developed 5G technology are being set up at 100 institutions, equally distributed across four zones in India. The labs are being set up with an aim of capacity building in new telecom technologies and creating use cases in various socio-economic sectors for 5G technologies in collaboration with academia and start-ups. From June 2024 onwards, 41 out of total 100 labs have been installed making cumulatively installed labs to 81.
  • Centres of Excellence (CoE) for 6G- A CoE on ‘Classical and Quantum Communications for 6G has been established at IIT Madras. Another memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been signed between Telecom CoE (TCoE) India and Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Visvesvaraya Research and Innovation Foundation (VRIF) to establish a CoE in quantum technology, focusing on associated 5G/6G technologies. These CoE will serve as a hub for innovation bringing together industry and academic experts to collaborate on cutting edge project in advance telecommunication technologies to foster and spearhead the development and deployment of 6G technology.
  • CoE for telecom security- A MoU has been signed between TCoE India and National Forensic Sciences University Gandhinagar for setting up of CoE on telecom security. The MoU envisages strengthening the national cyberspace by securing the telecom network and to develop an Indian telecom network security stack to enhance security of the nation’s communication infrastructure.
  • Leveraging telecom data and capabilities to enable cross sectoral infrastructure planning-
  • Sangam digital twin with artificial intelligence (AI) driven insights- Digital Twin with AI-driven insights is an initiative to revolutionise infrastructure planning. This two-stage initiative began with a creative exploration phase designed to build confidence among participants through networking events. Over 150 organisations and experts participated in first stage in form of networking events held in July 2024, demonstrating a willingness and foundational capability to develop the envisioned ecosystem for advanced infrastructure planning. In the second stage of Sangam development and demonstration of specific use cases are being planned.
  • Proof of Concept (PoC) of metro route planning- DoT, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, and TSPs have successfully conducted a PoC to demonstrate the feasibility of using aggregated telecom data for metro route planning addressing privacy challenges. PoC explored solution’s flexibility to evolve and tackle ridership issues in ongoing metro projects by accurately identifying catchment areas, analysing arrival times, assessing interchange durations, utilisation optimise operations, generating an origin-destination  matrix for metro network planning and improving ongoing operational strategies. The promising results achieved endorse the Sangam Digital Twin initiative and represent a significant first step.
  • Production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom and networking products- To boost domestic manufacturing, investments and export in telecom and networking products PLI scheme with a financial outlay of Rs 121.95 billion over a period of five years has been initiated. So far, 42 PLI beneficiary companies, collectively invested Rs 37.18 billion achieved sales of Rs 574.98 billion including export of Rs 115.06 billion and direct employment of 22,315.

Tvarit

  • Micro small and medium sized enterprises (MSME) certification assistance scheme- DoT launched reimbursement scheme aimed at easing financial burdens for startups and MSEs in telecom sector. With the objective of fostering domestic manufacturing, attracting investments and enhancing exports, the scheme will reimburse up to Rs 5 million per startup or MSE for testing and certification costs essential for product quality and market access.
  • Revised standards of quality of service- With an objective of improving the telecom network performance, benchmarks will be gradually tightened for key network parameters like network availability, call drop rates, packet drop rates, etc. In this regard, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released its revised regulations, ‘The Standards of Quality of Service of Access (Wirelines and Wireless) and Broadband (Wireline and Wireless) Service Regulations, 2024 (06 of 2024)’.
  • Telecommunications Act, 2023, enforcement and framing of rules- To update the existing laws and to address the challenges of telecom sector, central government enacted Telecommunications Act, 2023 on December 24, 2023. The Act replaces colonial era’s Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933. Enforcement of its provisions and rules will enable effective and modern regulation of telecom sector. It will provide clearly defined framework for spectrum assignment and its optimal utilisation, effective and efficient right of way (RoW) framework, strong provisions for national security and public emergency, etc.

In accordance with section 1(3), the central government has on June 21, 2024, issued gazette notification enforcing sections 1,2, 10 to 30, 42 to 44, 46, 47, 50 to 58, 61, and 62 of the Telecommunications Act from June 26, 2024. The Department has also, on July 4, 2024, notified sections 6 to 8, 48 and 59(b) of the Act  w.e.f.July 5, 2024.

Draft rules for security related provisions have been published for public consultation. Public consultation on draft rules for adjudication, amateur station operator and commercial radio operator’s certificate of proficiency to operate global maritime distress and safety system has been completed. Two set of rules, that are, Telecommunications (Administration of Digital Bharat Nidhi) Rules, 2024 and Telecommunications (RoW) Rules, 2024 have come into force through gazette notification dated August 31, 2024 and September 18, 2024 respectively.

  • Spectrum auction- Spectrum Auction in 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz, and 26 GHz bands was held in June 2024. A total of 141.4 MHz of spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz and 2500 MHz bands were sold at a market determined price of Rs 113.40 billion.

Surakshit

DoT has developed an online secure digital intelligence platform (DIP) under Digital Intelligence Unit  project for sharing information related to misuse of telecom resources among the stakeholders on near real time basis for prevention of cyber-crime and financial frauds. Different stakeholders are being onboarded on it including Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) , law enforcement agencies, Reserve Bank of India , banks, financial institutions , GSTN, UIDAI and social media platforms. 32 States/UTs police, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) , National Payment Corporation of India  have on boarded this platform during July and August 2024.

Till date, 750 users of various stakeholders have on boarded on DIP. These stakeholders include field units of DoT, TSPs, MHA, Indian Cybercrime coordination centre (I4C), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), 32 states/UTs police, 460 banks, FIs, fintechs, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), SEBI, GSTN, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and social media platforms.

DoT, through these 100 days achievements, reaffirms to expanding and enhancing India’s telecom infrastructure, ensuring seamless connectivity, promoting digital inclusion, fostering innovation and preparing the country for a more digitally empowered future.

In addition, Scindia also launched ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ (EPKMN) app, where citizens can plant a tree in honour of their mother and record the location, latitude, longitude, and timestamp of the dedicated tree. The app allows them to update the tree’s growth by uploading a new image every 30 days, allowing for continuous tracking.