Electronics manufacturing in India is worth close to $75 billion

The Fifth Generation or 5G telecom services are set to be rolled out in select cities in India in 2022, Union Minister of Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday.

5G is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks. While 4G was a great leap forward, allowing people to stream music and video on the go, 5G is designed to connect many more types of devices than smartphones and offers far higher speed and capacity.

Vaishnaw urged ‘India Telecom 2022’ - an Exclusive International Business Expo - to offer opportunities to the Indian telecom stakeholders to meet qualified overseas buyers, informed the Ministry of Communications.

The three-day event is being organised by Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) till February 10, 2022 under Market Access Initiative Scheme (MAI) of Department of Commerce, Government of India and with support of Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of External Affairs and Indian missions in different countries.

The event encapsulates strategies and learning that transcend the two most important present day industries having potential of unlocking huge demand of ICT services across multiple domains. Qualified buyers from more than 45 countries are attending the event. Apart from conference, 40+ Indian telecom companies are showcasing their products and capabilities at the exhibition.

“India has emerged as a major electronics manufacturing hub. Today, electronics manufacturing in India is close to US dollars 75 billion. It’s growing at more than 20% CAGR. Now, we have launched a major semiconductor programme, a very comprehensive programme in which right from silicon chip to compound semiconductors, design led manufacturing, creating a series of entrepreneurs in design and also finally to develop 85,000 semiconductor engineers,” said the Minister.

On development of technology, Vaishnaw stated “The country has also developed its own indigenously developed 4G core & radio network. The 5G network is also in its final stages of development. The country is participating today in development of 6G standards, in the thought process of 6G.”

Delivering the special address, Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications said, “Transparency and Accountability make our democracy vibrant and strong, and is a prime mover for socio-economic changes. That is why, the Government has made an ambitious plan taking optical fibre to all 6 lacs villages. We have reached to 2.6 lacs villages and Department of Telecom plans to achieve the target by 2025. This will also bridge the digital divide as well as fulfil the motto of “Minimum Government and Maximum Governance.”

In his address K Rajaraman, Chairman DCC & Secretary (T), Department of Telecommunications said, “The government has enabled easy market access to telecom equipment and a fair & proactive regulatory framework that has ensured availability of telecom services to consumers at affordable prices. The regulation on the Foreign Direct Investments and a series of reform measures have been taken last year to make doing business easier and less costly. Reforms initiatives in the telecom sector is being pushed further with more such efforts later this year.”

“5G is going to play a crucial role in evolving the tech industry, 5G would pave the way for bringing new used cases to life that can lead to proliferation of FinTech solutions in the Indian as well as in Global markets, 5G equipment are being manufactured in India for the world,” he added.