The government will target to get the new telecom bill passed in the monsoon session which will unleash series of reforms, addressing several issues such as high spectrum prices, easing regulatory framework and improving the financial health of telecom companies, minister of communications Ashwini Vaishnaw said Tuesday addressing media.
“Our next major target is getting the Telecom Bill passed in coming Monsoon Session. That will lead to a major series of reforms, in terms of spectrum, licenses, regulation. There will be a significant reform because of the Telecom Bill,” the minister said, after announcing that GSM Association (GSMA) had conferred Government Leadership Award 2023 to India for implementing best practices in telecom policy and regulation.
Talking on various subjects, he said that mobile exports would exceed US$10 billion in FY 23, even as the components ecosystem was moving to India. “This is a very big change. This year mobile export is going to exceed US$10 billion. All the component systems are in India,” he said.
The minister said 10 years ago, most components needed for mobile phone manufacturing were imported, and now 99 per cent of components are indigenous. According to the India Cellular and Electronics Association, the total number of jobs directly and indirectly created by mobile device manufacturers and their suppliers is around 2 million over past seven years.
iPhone maker Apple has alone provided one lakh fresh jobs in India in the past one-and-a-half years, Vaishnaw said, talking about employment generation under the sector.
“All the component systems are in India. In the coming years…will see electronic manufacturing, telecom manufacturing growing exponentially,” he said, adding that benefit will come from the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes launched by the government including in various sectors to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investments, enhance exports, integrate India into the global supply chain, and reduce dependency on imports.
On Vodafone Idea, he said that the company was not in default but needed more capital to sustain its operations. The government recently became the largest shareholder in the No 3 carrier by converting interest on dues of ₹16,100 crore into equity of just over 33 per cent.
How to earn more than 8% returns from debt investments
Vaishnaw said that 5G rollout in India would be completed by December 2024, which in turn will enable several applications, including smart cities, autonomous vehicles, and remote healthcare. “Telecom is now a sunrise sector…the industry achieved the phase one target of 5G rollouts much before the set deadline of March 31. As of today, India has covered 387 districts with 5G coverage. 1 lakh base transceiver stations (BTSs) have been installed,” said he added.
With more than 400 global startups showcasing, hundreds of global investors, and 8000+ global attendees over two days, Step brought the international tech world to Dubai and put fintech at the forefront in the UAE.
