Telecom Is Leading In Technology: Ashwini Vaishnaw The India Mobile Congress 2023 will pioneer breakthroughs in 5G, 6G, broadcasting, satellite, semiconductor, drone, devices, and green technologies
By Shrabona Ghosh •
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"Telecom is leading in technology, India has become a tech power house," said Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for communications, electronics & information technology and railways. More than INR 18,000 crore telecom manufacturing has been completed under the PLI scheme, "It's time to step it up," the minister added, while addressing the curtain raiser of The India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2023.
Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the stage at India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 to officially inaugurate 5G services in the country. Ericsson has projected India to reach 700 million 5G subscribers accounting for 57 per cent of the total subscribers by the end of 2028. This means India can be the second biggest 5G market by subscribers, after China.
The government is ensuring that India becomes not just atmanirbhar in this emerging and vital technology, but a significant contributor to the global good. Besides, India is catalyzing the next-generation 6G research and innovation in the country to enable India to be a front-line contributor in 6G technology and manufacturing by 2030.
Taking a significant stride forward in the field of telecommunications, India has acquired over 200 patents for 6G technology. The announcement was made during the launch of the Bharat 6G Alliance in New Delhi. The Department of Telecommunications constituted a Technology Innovation Group on 6G (TIG-6G) on 1st November 2021 with members from various ministries/departments, research and development institutions, academia, standardization bodies, telecom service providers and industry to develop vision, mission and goals for the 6G and also develop a roadmap and action plans for 6G in India.
This year, the theme of IMC will be 'Global Digital Innovation'. "We want to position India as a technology developer, telecom manufacturer and exporter. The theme for IMC2023 is Global Digital Innovation and many more industries will be associated with IMC including drone, satcom, mobile manufacturing, cybersecurity startups etc. IMC will explore having five international partner countries and will have consultation with the ministry of external affairs. We all should work towards positioning India as a technology powerhouse and IMC can play a major role in this vision," the minister added.
Since its inception in 2017, IMC has promoted India's positioning and serves as a key forum for global thought leaders to design the next wave of digital innovation. This year, the key programs will put spotlight on 6G, advancements in 5G networks, the increasing use of AI in telecommunications and other domains, Edge Computing, Industry 4.0, and the emergence of India Stack.
"The telecom industry in India has transformed a lot over the last few years and IMC also has made its mark in the world and Asia as a premier technology event. The nation has grown in various aspects on telecom front including Atmanirbhar Bharat, 5G rollout, and roadmap for 6G. This year at IMC we expect the use cases that will be useful in agriculture, education, logistics, transportation, etc to showcase how 5G is transforming the country," said Devusinh Chauhan, Union minister of state for communications.
IMC 2023 is set to take place from October 27 to 29 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi.
