Views of Jyotiraditya M. Scindia: “India will lead the world in 6G”

The year 2025 was one of steady expansion and new momentum for India’s telecom sector. Key developments during the year included continued 5G roll-outs, a sharper push to improve broadband reach and quality, and stronger efforts to prepare for 6G. The government also focused on digital inclusion through programmes such as BharatNet and the National Broadband Mission (NBM). Against this backdrop, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, spoke about the sector’s progress and priorities at various forums during the year. Edited excerpts from some of his addresses…

 

Telecom as the infrastructure of infrastructures

As we navigate through the first quarter of the twenty-first century, our responsibility is not limited to merely being a technology provider,
but extends to being an enabler of change
and inclusivity.

It was only during the Covid-19 times that we saw rapid penetration and rapid adoption like never before. It would be justifiable to say that the pace of change that would probably take decades was completed in a couple of years. And it was our sector that catered to the need of increased network requirements, ensured resilient connectivity 24×7, delivered tailored services, provided free access to health and government, and expanded network capabilities based on innovation and new technologies.

Connectivity is the one thing that binds all of this together. In an ideal world, you would imagine your phone would never lose signal. Your internet speeds are as seamless as the air we breathe. And it is this vision that we are trying to achieve in India.

Scale, affordability and inclusion

India is home to the second largest telecom subscriber base in the world, with 1.2 billion subscribers, and 971 million internet users with 942 million broadband subscribers. Earlier, 1 GB of data used to cost Rs 287. Today, it costs Rs 9 per GB, which is 11 cents. The world’s average cost per GB is $2.49. So, India operates at 5 per cent of the world’s cost. This is the democratisation of technology.

We have scale, we have size, we have innovation, and we have economy to ensure that scalability reaches the bottom of the pyramid.

Swift 5G roll-out and shift to use cases

It is only in India that 5G was rolled out in 22 months, covering 99.6 per cent of districts and 82 per cent of the population, with close to 550,000 base transceiver stations.  We are now starting 5G use cases in 13 villages across the country, from Andhra Pradesh to Madhya Pradesh, to demonstrate viable 5G usage models. Additionally, we have set up more than 100 5G labs and launched the Bharat 6G Alliance to promote 6G innovations.

NBM 2.0 and building the world’s largest rural digital highway

NBM 2.0 builds on the success of NBM 1.0, under which nearly 800,000 towers were established. Broadband subscriptions have increased from 660 million to 940 million. This growth serves as the fulcrum, the foundation and the basis for the launch of NBM 2.0.

Our goal is to connect the remaining 170,000 villages across the country. We aim to ensure that at least 60 out of every 100 rural households have access to broadband connectivity. We also aim to achieve a minimum fixed broadband download speed of 100 Mbps, creating a robust digital infrastructure for rural India.

Broadband connectivity will bring about a transformation that will redefine education, healthcare and governance in rural India. We are now building a digital highway that will allow every citizen across the length and breadth of the country to be connected with not only the rest of India, but also with the rest of the world.

4G saturation and bridging the digital divide

Today, as India celebrates 95 per cent of its villages being connected by 4G, we are putting in place a $4 billion investment plan to connect every single village and achieve 100 per cent saturation. The plan covers 36,000 villages and 27,000 towers, and in less than 11 months, we have already set up 17,000 towers.

The day is not far when every single village in the country will be connected with 4G, because connectivity is no longer about communication alone. It is a means of empowerment, of plugging into the world of information.

Wi-Fi and licence-exempt spectrum

Our job in government today is not to be a regulator – it is to be a facilitator. We need to open those new vistas. We need to provide opportunity. We must be customer-centric, along with being company-or technology-agnostic. Our responsibility is towards 1.4 billion of our brothers and
sisters.

We already have close to 350,000 hotspots, and this progress is being achieved without spectrum and without bureaucratic red tape. India today is showing the world how it can be done. You must convert every hotspot into a “hope spot”.

We have also delicensed and reformed the 6 GHz spectrum, the lower end of that spectrum, which is today not a luxury but a necessity. It will deliver multi-gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency and low-cost digital highways that will create multiple businesses and opportunities.

Trust, security and consumer protection

Cybersecurity and consumer protection are equally important. We have put in place the Sanchar Saathi portal.

Designing regulatory sandboxes also allows bold ideas to be tested safely before scaling. We must embrace universal access as a collective responsibility. India has an institution called Digital Bharat Nidhi, which focuses on ensuring 100 per cent saturation so that no community is left behind.

We must build inclusion and trust, and that requires a strong regulatory framework. We have put in place the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. It emphasises user privacy, consent and data fiduciary obligations, and establishes a legal foundation for handling personal data.

Telecom sector reforms and forward-looking
regulations

With the promulgation of the Telecommunications Act, 2023, we have ushered in a forward-looking framework attuned to the age of artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and satellite communications. With the Telecom Cyber Security Rules, 2024, we built the safeguards that instil resilience and trust in an interconnected age.

The way in which we balance the promise of AI, encourage innovation to bloom, prune misuse before it spreads and cultivate resilience is what endures. Technology evolves much faster than regulation. Therefore, to maintain regulatory agility, we must move with the times and with technology.

Make in India, make for the world

Under the prime minister’s leadership, the Make in India mission is evolving into a “Make for the World” movement. We produce close to 350 million mobile phones, which is 15.5 per cent of the global market, with $20 billion worth of exports. Our telecom equipment exports have also grown significantly – from about Rs 85 billion to nearly Rs 200 billion.

Digital India and building inclusive platforms

The Unified Payments Interface stack processes close to 175 billion transactions, worth about $2.85 trillion annually. The one thing that binds all of this together is connectivity.

Aadhaar is a biometric digital ID that serves as a recognition mechanism to deliver government programmes directly into beneficiaries’ accounts. In 2024-25, direct benefit transfers were close to $81 billion, all done digitally.

6G ambition and standards leadership

We followed the world on 4G. We walked with the world on 5G. And I guarantee you, India will lead the world in 6G.

India is no longer just a vast market for technology. It has firmly positioned itself as a global co-creator. Our standing among the top six nations in 6G patent filing testifies to this transformation.

India must now move with confidence towards global leadership. We must continue leapfrogging, examine the entire value chain end to end, break down complex technological challenges into solvable components, and set measurable quarterly targets.

The road ahead

Achieving true inclusivity in the telecom sector requires a delicate balance between innovation and regulation. It is important to empower every citizen with technology, whether it be a farmer in rural India looking at internet of things to leverage agricultural production, or a start-up developing a new AI solution. This must be a shared goal: using technology for the betterment of humankind.

This is the time when we must risk short-term advantages to seize untapped growth and push boundaries while staying grounded in our shared commitment to the greater good.