India to become global leader in mobile manufacturing soon, says Ashwini Vaishnaw

The Union minister said as many as 6,000 villages in Odisha remain out of mobile network due to lack of mobile towers. His ministry has identified around 3,933 sites where mobile towers will be installed.

Published on: Feb 6, 2022, 19:43:37 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Union Minister of Railways, Communication and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said India is poised to become the world leader in mobile handset manufacturing over the next few years and the 5G technology has progressed satisfactorily and will be rolled out this year.

Union Minister of Railways, Communication and Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw at a press conference over the allocation of funds in the Union Budget 2022-23, at the BJP party office, in Bhubaneswar on Sunday. (ANI PHOTO.)

Vaishnaw said India has emerged as the 2nd largest manufacturer of mobile handsets in the world in terms of volume with 200 units manufacturing mobile handsets. The minister was addressing the media in Bhubaneswar on Sunday.

“Due to a large number of manufacturing units, the market size of India’s electronic manufacturing has touched ₹6 lakh crore. The sector is generating 22 lakh jobs. With the speed at which electronic manufacturing is progressing, the market size will reach ₹25 lakh crore in 5 years. It will be then generating 80 lakh employment,” Vaishnaw said.

The Union minister said India has achieved progress in 5G much more than expected and very soon 5G core and radio network would be launched. “During the past 2 years C-DOT and TCS have developed the technology by virtualising the network. Our engineers have worked hard on virtualisation which no other company in the world has mastered. I am confident that India will become the world leader in mobile technology,” he said, adding that India has developed 4G technology better than the ones available in other countries.

Vaishnaw said as many as 6,000 villages in Odisha remain out of mobile network due to lack of mobile towers. His ministry has identified around 3,933 sites where mobile towers will be installed.

On revival of BSNL/MTNL, he said public sector telecom companies had become bankrupt during the UPA rule. “BSNL was a profitable company. However, its funds were diverted in UPA era. Once BSNL is stable with 4G technology, in 1-2 years it will adopt 5G technology,” he said.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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