Union Minister for Communications, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia today interacted with the media at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, in the presence of Minister of State for Communications, Dr. Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, and Secretary (Telecom) Dr.Neeraj Mittal.

Terming IMC 2025 as a historic occasion in India’s digital journey, Minister Shri Scindia said, “The Prime Minister graced us with his presence yesterday at the inaugural session, which also stands testimony to the growth and monumental change that IMC has gone through in its nine editions.”  He added, “That’s specifically because, in the last 11 years, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, has set the pace through his vision — that telecom and digital inclusion will form the backdrop of the economy’s growth going forward.”

He noted that the digital economy today contributes about 12–14% of India’s GDP and is expected to rise to 20% over the next decade, reflecting the increasing importance of the telecom and digital sectors as key drivers of the nation’s growth.

Highlighting the transformative progress achieved in the last ten years, the Union Minister said, “The last 10 years have seen an exponential change in the telecom and digital sector. We have today 1.2 billion subscribers — it’s the largest penetrated market in the world. We have 20% of the world’s mobile subscribers. Internet connectivity has surged from 250 million to 974 million users, while broadband connectivity has grown from 60 million to 934 million users in the last decade, he added.

Union Minister Shri Scindia underlined that “The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, has brought about two distinct changes. One, the role of government is less of a regulator and more of a facilitator. And second, the government has worked with other ministries and the private sector in a whole-of-government approach.”

He pointed out that as many as 30 ministries have come together to make IMC 2025 a grand success, reflecting this spirit of cooperation.

Speaking on India’s strides in indigenous telecom technology, the Union Minister highlighted that India is now the fifth country in the world with its own 4G stack, which was unveiled by the Prime Minister on 27th September 2025. Within a short span of just 20 months, India has developed a fully indigenous 4G system, which is now operational across 100,000 BSNL towers. He added that this stack will soon be scaled up and upgraded to 5G, underscoring the motto — “Build in India, Build for the World.”

The Union Minister further shared that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for telecom manufacturing has witnessed remarkable success, achieving ₹91,000 crore in sales, ₹17,800 crore in exports, and creating over 20,000 new jobs. He also emphasised the evolving role of the telecom sector, stating that it is no longer a standalone vertical but an integrator — backward integrating into equipment and semiconductor manufacturing, and forward integrating into digital services and solutions.

Speaking on India’s leadership in emerging technologies, Shri Jyotiraditya Scindia mentioned, “We also have the Bharat 6G Alliance, which is doing exceptional work. We’ve got 80-plus members, and coming together with the India Telecom Technology Development Fund and other schemes, we are assisting the B6GA with the goal of achieving at least 10% of global IP equities once the 6G standards are up.”

Complementing this, initiatives such as the India Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) are supporting research, development, and indigenous innovation. Addressing the growing importance of cybersecurity and digital safety, the Union Minister highlighted the achievements of the Cybersecurity Lab and tools like the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator, which have played a pivotal role in protecting citizens’ digital assets over the past year.

The Union Minister also spoke about the six major components of IMC 2025, which include the International 6G Symposium, the International AI Summit, the Cybersecurity Summit, and the SATCOM Summit. These are further complemented by the IMC Aspire Competition — a global startup challenge featuring 550 companies and 300 investors, where the top 15 startups will compete in San Francisco for a $10 million prize — and the OpenAI API Hackathon, engaging developers from across the country.

The Union Minister concluded by thanking the industry, innovators, startups, and participants for their enthusiastic engagement, stating that IMC 2025 exemplifies India’s growing role as a global digital innovation hub.

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