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India’s transformation in telecom and digital connectivity monumental: Scindia
Union minister for communications Jyotiraditya Scindia and Brazil’s minister of communication Frederico de Siqueira Filho on Friday signed a MoU to deepen cooperation in telecommunications and information and communications technologies (ICTs) on the sidelines of the12th BRICS Communication Ministers meeting in Pune
Union minister for communications Jyotiraditya Scindia and Brazil’s minister of communication Frederico de Siqueira Filho on Friday signed a MoU to deepen cooperation in telecommunications and information and communications technologies (ICTs) on the sidelines of the12th BRICS Communication Ministers meeting in Pune.
The agreement will advance digital innovation, strengthen digital infrastructure and foster cooperation in emerging technologies.
Scindia told media that India has made ‘monumental’ progress in the telecommunication sector in the last one decade, citing subscriber growth, broadband penetration and lower tariffs.
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“India’s transformation in the telecom sector has been led by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi. We have presently 1.33 billion mobile subscribers. Our internet penetration has grown from 250 million to over a billion subscribers. Our broadband penetration has grown from just 65 million to a billion people across our country. And all this has been possible on a paradigm of reducing costs,” said Scindia. while interacting with the media.
Over 12 years ago, he said, a voice call was 50 paise per unit, which is now just 0.03 paise a unit. One 1 GB of data that used to cost ₹287 now costs less than ₹10. As far as the spread of telecom networks is concerned, India now has over 2 million Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) and 20 lakh BTS for 4G covering 99.9% of the country’s population.
“India started its 5G rollout in October 2022 and it has been the fastest rollout in the world. At present it covers all districts in the country covering 86% of the population. The 5G subscriber base is growing rapidly and at present it has 500 million subscribers. By the end of 2030-31 it will cross one billion,” he added.
The Union minister said that the Prime Minister is clear that telecom networks and communications must connect people and improve people’s lives.
According to him, at present 50% of the world’s digital transactions take place in India. “The UPI has processed 242 billion digital transactions involving 3.2 trillion dollars in 2025-26 in the country,” he added.
“We have prepared comprehensive discussions and priorities that will shape our future Information and Communication Technology (ICT) cooperation within BRICS. The eight pillars in particular: - Universal and Meaningful Connectivity, Resilient Public Infrastructure, Trusted, Secure, and People-Centric Ecosystems, Digital Public Infrastructure, Artificial Intelligence and Future Network Technologies, Innovation Startups and Entrepreneurship and Digital Scaling and Enhanced Cooperation amongst our BRICS countries,” he added, stating that BRICS has a growing role to play in the global forum, considering half of humanity lies in this region, and two-fifths of the world’s economy lies in this region.”
Earlier Scindia chaired a meeting of the BRICS Communications Ministers meeting and said that “India assumes the Chairship in 2026, we do so with humility and a shared commitment to our theme building resilience, innovation, cooperation and sustainability reflected in the ICT Track theme Innovate, Cooperate and Transform for a Resilient Future.”
