India’s digital landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, with government initiatives serving as a key driver of progress. Over the past decade, large-scale policy interventions, significant infrastructure investments and rapid technological adoption have turned connectivity from an urban phenomenon into a nationwide driver of growth, with rural and semi-urban regions now at the forefront of digital inclusion.

According to a 2024 report by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and Kantar, the country’s internet user base is projected to exceed 900 million by the end of 2025, with rural regions accounting for the majority of new additions. Rural India already contributes over half of the total internet population. The digital gender gap is also narrowing, with women now making up 47 per cent of users, the highest share recorded so far. Supporting this trend, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) reported that as of June 2025, India has 1.218 billion telephone subscribers, including 1.17 billion wireless and 47.5 million wired connections.

Against this backdrop, government initiatives are not just supporting, but actively steering India’s digital infrastructure transformation. By creating enabling policies, funding rural connectivity and driving technology adoption, the state is laying the foundations for India’s transition to a globally competitive digital economy.

The rise of “Made in India” telecom

The production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for telecom and networking products, launched on February 24, 2021 with an outlay of Rs 121.95 billion, attempted to shift India’s position from net importer of telecom equipment to competitive global exporter. The scheme is structured to encourage both domestic and foreign firms to establish and expand manufacturing within India, covering products such as optical fibre cables (OFCs), routers, switches and other telecom equipment essential for building connectivity infrastructure.

By January 31, 2025, the scheme had attracted investments of around Rs 40.81 billion, generated Rs 786.72 billion in cumulative sales and facilitated exports worth Rs 149.63 billion, creating over 26,000 jobs in the process. However, the disbursement of incentives has been slower. By March 31, 2025, only 21 of the 42 eligible companies had received payouts, totalling Rs 11.62 billion. This also has a direct bearing on in-building connectivity. Products incentivised under the programme, such as OFCs and routers, form the backbone of indoor networks. With over 80 per cent of mobile data traffic consumed indoors, households, enterprises, hospitals and educational institutions are increasingly reliant on robust in-building digital infrastructure. In this context, the PLI scheme is not only an instrument for boosting exports and creating employment, but also a critical enabler, ensuring that India’s indoor digital infrastructure keeps pace with rising data demand.

GatiShakti Sanchar portal and RoW updates

For years, telecom expansion in India was slowed down by paperwork and bureaucratic approvals. Every new tower or OFC required separate permissions from multiple authorities, each with its own forms, fees and timelines.

To streamline this, the GatiShakti Sanchar portal, launched on May 14, 2022, created a unified digital platform for right-of -way (RoW) clearances, connecting telecom operators to all states and union territories, and key ministries including railways, defence, road transport and environment. By December 2024, the portal had slashed average application disposal time from 448 days (back in 2019) to roughly 60 days, with around 20 per cent of RoW applications processed within 15 days.

Further, while the Telecommunications, RoW Rules, 2024 officially came into force on January 1, 2025, requiring uniform RoW processes nationwide, states still needed to issue formal adoption orders. By mid-2025, most states and union territories have aligned with the centrally notified RoW rules, and shifted clearances to the GatiShakti Sanchar single-window system. This is standardising fees and documentation, shortening approval timelines, and improving predictability for fibre and tower roll-outs.

NBM and the BharatNet journey

The National Broadband Mission (NBM) and BharatNet are the government’s flagship programmes for expanding high speed internet access across India. Launched in December 2019, the NBM 1.0 focused on accelerating fibre deployment, tower densification and broadband adoption.

Running in parallel, BharatNet, the world’s largest rural broadband programme, has connected approximately 0.218 million gram panchayats (GPs), laid around 0.421 million route km of optical fibre, provided nearly 1.2 million fibre to home connections, and installed approximately 0.105 million Wi-Fi hotspots (as of March 19, 2025).

Looking ahead, the road map now has two tracks. First, NBM 2.0, launched in January 2025, has set the sector’s direction: extend fibre to 0.27 million villages by 2030, provide broadband to 90 per cent of anchor institutions, and lift typical fixed broadband speeds closer to 100 Mbps. Second, BharatNet Phase III, from 2025 onwards, will operationalise that vision at the last mile, pivoting from GP backhaul to household and institution access via bundled public-private partnership (PPP) packages with multi year operations and maintenance (O&M) and a consumer thrust that targets around 15 million subsidised rural household connections.

The immediate focus is threefold: completing last-mile build and service activation on the existing BharatNet footprint, locking in reliability through O&M-backed PPPs, and standardising reinstatement/utility workflows and drive uptake at schools, health facilities and households so the network translates into measurable socio-economic outcomes.

Rural mobile connectivity and DBN

To close rural coverage gaps, the government has repurposed the universal service obligation framework into Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, with the rules being notified in mid-2024. DBN finances priority schemes such as the 4G Saturation project, which is designed to provide 4G service in 24,680 uncovered villages with headroom for 20 per cent more, and to upgrade thousands of 2G/3G-only locations to 4G.

Official updates from 2025 indicate that roll-out activity under the DBN is still progressing, with nearly 90 per cent mobile coverage having been achieved in border habitations in the Northeast, largely supported via DBN funding streams.

What is pending is the total coverage of uncovered villages under the 4G Saturation programme, alongside strengthening of power and backhaul infrastructure at remote sites to ensure that commissioned towers remain fully serviceable. In parallel, ensuring that state and urban local body approvals for RoW are processed within fixed timelines will be critical to translating DBN funding into live coverage more efficiently.

Parliamentary committee report on critical telecommunications infrastructure

In July 2025, a report from the Committee on Subordinate Legislation was tabled in the Rajya Sabha, reviewing the Telecommunications (Critical Telecommunication Infrastructure [CTI]) Rules, 2024, and Telecommunications (Telecom Cyber Security) Rules, 2024. The report endorsed the government’s authority over CTI inspections under Rule 5(1), noting that these help proactively identify vulnerabilities and reduce risks. To boost effectiveness and minimise disruption, it advised a hybrid inspection model – routine and incident-triggered – with clear protocols and stakeholder involvement. For incident reporting, the committee found that Rule 7(1)(j)’s six-hour timeline aligns with the Indian Computer ­Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) guidelines but suggested shifting the reporting trigger from “occurrence” to “awareness” for practicality, streamlining processes and providing support for telecom providers. With foreign equipment, particularly Chinese-made, the committee identified significant cybersecurity and national security risks. It recommended a phased “rip and replace” strategy to swap high-risk components for trusted, preferably indigenous, alternatives, alongside tightened supply chain security. These steps aim to strengthen compliance, resilience and India’s leadership in secure telecom.

State policies

Beyond RoW, state governments play a crucial role in rationalising levies, offering incentives and enabling easier access to public infrastructure such as utility poles and government buildings. Some states have gone further, introducing information and communication technology and digital policies to promote 5G readiness, attract data centres and expand e-governance networks.

Complementing these state-level actions, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology has repeatedly highlighted the need to prioritise fibre connectivity, upgrade power and backhaul infrastructure, and bridge the rural-urban digital divide. Its reports urge both central and state governments to harmonise policies, enforce time-bound approvals and strengthen cybersecurity measures for critical telecom assets. Together, more aligned state policies and parliamentary oversight can ensure that investments in fibre, towers and small cells translate more quickly into live, resilient networks.

The way forward

From manufacturing incentives and faster infrastructure clearances to rural connectivity pushes and policy reforms, today’s initiatives are no longer isolated projects but pieces of a cohesive national strategy. The aim is clear: make India not just a top consumer of telecom services, but a global producer, innovator and policy leader.

The results are already visible. Broadband penetration continues to climb, fibre is reaching deeper into rural pockets, and mobile coverage is lighting up the country’s remotest corners. BharatNet’s expansion and DBN’s targeted deployments are bridging gaps that once seemed challenging, while RoW reforms and greater state-centre alignment have eased the doing-business bottlenecks that had slowed network growth for years.

But the road ahead demands more than just technology and funding. The limited fibre penetration, power backup and renewable integration signal the need for a sustained policy focus. Equally important is building human capacity and training a workforce that can manage advanced networks, safeguard cybersecurity and harness AI for telecom innovation.

The convergence of 5G, AI and satellite internet will reshape how India connects, works and delivers services. The journey towards 6G will require steady investment in research and development, robust PPPs, and dynamic regulation that evolves with technology.