According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Railways, India has over 127 global patents for 6G technology.
Speaking at the 17th India Telecom event jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Equipment & Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC), Vaishnaw said that India is confidently developing products and technologies and taking ever bigger challenges. He reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remark that India has the power of trust and scale, which is leading to the demand for indigenous telecom gears overseas. He added that India is a top exporter of software, but is now going to be a leader in exports of hardware too.
Further, Vaishnaw said that the inauguration of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office and Innovation Centre in India by the Prime Minister is an example of how India is stepping ahead in manufacturing space, especially in telecom equipment manufacturing. He also noted that the regulation of digital economies has to be different from the earlier economy which was not heavily reliant on digital technologies.
During the event, Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications, said that India will be in a position to develop a fully indigenous 6G stack by the end of this decade. He added that in recent years, the country has undertaken several initiatives to address the challenges of the digital divide. Out of the total 640,000 villages, over 600,000 have already been provided with 4G mobile coverage. The remaining villages will be covered by December 2023. The government has also been extending fibre to every village in the country. Around 190,000 villages have optical fibre connectivity, while the remaining villages will be covered by 2025.
Further, K Rajaraman, chairman, Digital Communications Commission, and secretary (Telecommunications), DoT, said that the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) area office and innovation centre launched in New Delhi will foster collaborative partnerships between the UN telecom agency and participating countries. He added that the official work towards common interests of strengthening technology as a tool for inclusion, technology, cooperation and boosting of regional telecom, manufacturing and infrastructure etc. Further, Rajaraman noted that India is deeply committed to the goals of connecting the unconnected, making telecom services affordable, inclusive and accessible to all sections of society.
