 "India will lead the world in 6G: PM Narendra Modi at India Mobile Congress")
India will lead the world in 6G technology, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the 7th edition of the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi on Friday. He said India saw the fastest roll-out of the 5G technology last year. Now, the government is working on becoming a leader in 6G.
"In 5G, we reached from roll out to reach out stage," he said. Modi added that within one year of roll-out, 400,000 5G base stations have been set up in India. "Not only 5G, we are in the direction of becoming a leader in the 6G space."
Modi highlighted that unlike in 2014, when India was a net importer of mobiles, the country today is the world's second-largest mobile manufacturer. He added that the country is also manufacturing electronic goods worth Rs 2 trillion for exports.
"Today we all are proud that the whole world is using 'Made in India' phones," he said.
The PM added that the need of the hour is to take forward the success in mobile and electronics and establish a strong semiconductor manufacturing sector in the country.
"Today semiconductor companies from around the world, in collaboration with Indian companies, are investing in semiconductor assembly and testing facilities in the country," he said.
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"India's semiconductor plan is not only working on meeting the domestic demand but also to meet the global requirements," he added.
PM Modi said India is lucky that its young generation is leading the country's technology revolution. He added that in broadband speed, India's rank has risen from 118 to 43.
He also said that the speed and availability of connectivity have a huge impact on the social and economic situation in the country. For this, the Centre's top priority is to provide access to capital, resources and technology.
Moreover, he said that the Centre is also focussing on democratising technology.
"For me, this is the biggest social justice," he said. "The more we use technology, the more we will go closer to becoming a developed nation."
At the event, Modi also gave the award of "5G Lab" to 100 institutions.
Earlier at the event, IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that India is emerging as a telecom technology developer, exporter and leader. Telecom is the gateway of digital, Vaishnaw said, citing the speedy roll-out of 5G services in India and the nation's clear 6G vision.
Committed to 5G
Joining PM Modi on the dais, Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, who sits on the board of Vodafone Idea, said the 5G rollout in India has been the fastest and promised to expand 5G connectivity further.
Ambani said Jio had installed 85 per cent of 5G cells deployed in the country. "Deploying a 5G cell every 10 seconds, Jio has installed over 1 million 5G cells across all 22 circles of India," he said.
Earlier in the day, Ambani showcased the company's indigenously developed full 5G stack of technologies that is currently hosting 50 million-plus customers. He also showed the PM Jio's Airfiber technology and the JioBharat phone, both launched by the company over the past few months.
Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal announced that Bharti Airtel-backed Eutelsat OneWeb's satellite communication service will be available in India from next month. He said the company has established its ground station in Mehsana, Gujarat.
Mittal said 5,000 towns and 20,000 villages have already been covered with Airtel's 5G network and promised to keep his earlier commitment to complete the rollout nationwide by March 2024. He stressed India is becoming a world leader in the manufacturing of digital technology.
Vodafone Idea Kumar Mangalam Birla has successfully developed a range of 5G use cases across diverse sectors such as agri, infra, automotive and logistics, among others. While the company is yet to begin offering commercial 5G services, Vodafone Idea is set to invest significantly to complete the rollout of 5G services and expand 4G services.
Bharti Airtel showcased its state-of-the-art artificial intelligence-powered, self-optimised network.
The company also drew the PM's attention to Airtel's LEO satellite constellation. Airtel's green energy-powered data centres, present in 65 cities of the country, were also on show.
Vodafone Idea showcased innovative IoT solutions at IMC.