Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the rollout of 5G networks in India, calling them crucial for the country's transition to a developed economy. He launched the government's 5G Use Case Labs for educational institutes, which will drive innovation in 5G-based applications. Modi also highlighted India's focus on becoming a leader in 6G technology. The labs, set up by the telecommunications department, will receive government funding for their operations. Modi emphasized the government's goal of ensuring the benefits of technology reach all citizens, promoting social justice.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday praised the rollout of 5G telecom networks in the country and the progress of the technology sector, calling them crucial for India’s transition to a developed economy.

Modi, speaking at the India Mobile Congress with several industry leaders in attendance, launched the government’s 5G Use Case Labs for educational institutes, which will help drive innovation in 5G-based applications for domains such as agriculture, education and health.

“Internet connectivity and improvement in speeds also improves ease of living. When internet speed increases, a student connects with a teacher, a patient connect with a doctor, and farmers learn new techniques to improve their productivity,” he said, linking connectivity to improvements in “social and economic well-being”.

“India is not only expanding the 5G network in the country but also laying emphasis on becoming a leader in 6G,” Modi added.

The PM said that in the year since the first 5G, or fifth generation, mobile communications were rolled out, 97% of the cities and 80% of the population has been covered. “But we did not stop at that success, and we began to work on making sure every citizen had access to it. From roll-out, we went to the reach-out stage.”

This, he added, tied into the government’s focus on “democratising every sector”. “We believe in democratising every sector, and we are working to ensure that the benefits of technology reach everyone. For me, that is the greatest social justice.”

At IMC, Modi launched the labs first announced in the Union Budget presented by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman this year.

The telecommunications department has set up the labs for which the government will provide 80% of the capital expenditure and 100% of operational expenses for the next four years. Institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institutes of Information Technology, National Institutes of Technology, and other selected higher education institutions, will foot 20% of capital expenditure for the labs.

Each lab will have at least 10 faculty members and 50 students and at least five start-ups or Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises will be engaged with each to test or develop solutions. Each lab must develop or test at least 10 products or solutions annually.

All the labs are expected to be fully functional by March 2024, an official said on the condition of anonymity.

In his address, Modi said India is among the world’s top three start-up ecosystems and the second largest mobile phone manufacturer. “Our electronics exports are upwards of ₹2 lakh crore now,” said Modi.

Modi also spoke about cybersecurity and said threats to it were discussed during the G20 summit in New Delhi in September. “If our entire value chain resides within India, it will be easier to secure it.”

Union communications and electronics and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said telecom equipment from India was being exported to over 70 countries. He added that the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly, the governing conference of the International Telecommunication Union’s standardisation sector, and one of its three world conferences, will be held in India in 2024.

Aditya Birla Group chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla, who also spoke at the IMC’s inaugural ceremony, lauded India’s digital public infrastructure. “Many countries across the world are ready to adopt India’s digital public infrastructure assets across identity, payments, and data management,” Birla said.

Bharti Airtel chairman Sunil Mittal and Reliance Jio Infocomm chairman Akash Ambani announced new space communication services. “Satellite communications is here to serve the country … the OneWeb is ready to serve the world … satellite connectivity will be available from next month through our [satellite network portal site] in Mehsana, Gujarat,” Mittal said.

“With JioSpaceFiber, we expand our reach to cover the millions yet to be connected,” said Ambani, who praised Modi’s leadership for “helping bring India and Indians together”.