Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development
India has entered a new phase in its digital journey, where telecom networks are being positioned as the delivery layer for artificial intelligence (AI) at population scale. During his recent address at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, spoke about connectivity as sovereignty, the shift from coverage to capability through fibre, and the need to combine affordability with trust, cybersecurity and fraud prevention as AI use deepens across India. Edited excerpts from his remarks…
Connectivity is sovereignty
Telecom networks are the foundational layer on which AI is being built in India. AI is already being used to prevent downtime through predictive maintenance, optimise spectrum dynamically in real time, and cut energy use by up to 30 per cent with AI-powered management. But without affordable and reliable connectivity, AI stays locked inside urban centres and research labs.
Our priority has always been clear: connect every village, and make every citizen AI-ready.
Nation-building through broadband and 5G
India’s 5G roll-out – the fastest in the world – along with the fiberisation of more than 70 per cent of towers, and $17 billion investment in last-mile initiatives like BharatNet, are not just upgrades. They are instruments of nation-building. Broadband subscribers have grown from 60 million in 2014 to 1 billion in 2026, a staggering 1,500 per cent growth in just over a decade. AI is now reaching every rural village, not by chance, but by choice, driven by deliberate planning, supportive policy and determined execution. India has achieved near-universal population coverage, with teledensity exceeding 85 per cent.
India’s average mobile data consumption today exceeds 24 GB per user per month, among the highest in the world, demonstrating both readiness and demand for AI-enabled applications. Fibre deployment has crossed 4.2 million route kilometres, enabling the high-capacity backbone necessary for next-generation AI workloads.
From coverage to capability
The next phase involves high-capacity fibre backhaul, supporting data speeds up to 1 GB per second in key areas; edge data infrastructure for localised processing; low-latency networks essential for real-time AI; and affordable access that allows start-ups to compete from day one. AI does not live only in distant data centres. It lives where the action is – close to homes, close to users, and close to decisions. Edge computing reduces latency to under 10 milliseconds for critical applications. With data centre capacity in India growing at 20 per cent annually, cloud platforms will provide India’s scalable AI backbone.
Affordability and scale
India’s telecom model is rooted in two primary principles. One is affordability, and the other is scale. Data costs have fallen 95 per cent since 2014. This single fact has democratised access to technology in ways few countries have achieved. As data traffic surges with generative AI, our focus on vernacular language interfaces ensures that this is not a technology for the few.
AI agents are evolving from simple chatbots into modular problem-solvers, automating customer interactions and reducing costs by 20-30 per cent.
Trust and security
As networks carry increasingly sensitive AI workloads, trust becomes the foundation of everything. We are strengthening network security frameworks, enforcing data protection with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, and embedding responsible AI practices at every layer.
AI-driven threat detection is now the baseline in Indian telecom. Zero-trust architecture protects government systems round the clock. And for every citizen, including commendable private players, AI is flagging millions of spam calls daily, giving back people control over their own communication.
From digital Bharat to intelligent Bharat
India sits at a unique intersection of scale, ambition and proven delivery. Today, India ranks number three globally in AI competitiveness. We have allocated Rs 100 billion for India’s AI mission, and we have committed Rs 1.6 trillion for semiconductor investment to achieve chip manufacturing self-reliance.
India’s journey does not end at digital Bharat. It continues towards intelligent Bharat. We have built the infrastructure, affordability is proven, the demand is there and the policy environment is supportive. The only question is how fast we lead, and India’s answer is: faster than the world expects, and further than anyone imagined.
