Scindia Collaborates with Telecom Giants to Outline Sector's Growth Strategy

Union telecom minister Jyotiraditya Scindia convened a meeting on Tuesday with key telecom industry leaders, including Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, Bharti Airtel founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Vodafone Idea MD and CEO Akshaya Moondra. This gathering aimed to outline a growth roadmap for the telecom sector. It marked the first such meeting under the third term of the NDA government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and followed a recent mobile tariff hike of 10-27%.

Representative image

Scindia emphasised fostering sector growth collaboratively while safeguarding consumer and national interests. "We have identified a rather deep agenda for these committees. Now the members of these committees and we will be working together," Scindia stated post-meeting. Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra and COAI Director General S P Kochhar also attended this advisory committee meeting.

Focus on Consumer Interests

Sources revealed that discussions lasted about half an hour, during which Scindia stressed that customer interests should be central to the sector's growth. All three private players supported this vision. Sunil Bharti Mittal praised the minister's initiative to engage with the industry and form a committee to address various telecom sector issues.

The official statement highlighted that the Telecom Service Providers SAC stakeholders advisory committee discussed strategies to enhance service delivery and tackle challenges faced by operators. The focus was on futuristic and innovative growth areas within the sector.

Broadband Penetration and Infrastructure Development

The Internet Service Providers and Infrastructure Providers SAC meeting concentrated on improving broadband penetration and infrastructure development. The committee underscored the need for policy support to speed up infrastructure rollout and enhance internet accessibility, particularly through advanced technologies like fibre optics and 5G.

On Monday, Scindia met with three advisory groups focused on satellite communications, electronics ecosystem, and original equipment makers. These meetings aimed to prepare a roadmap for achieving self-reliance and global leadership in the sector. Attendees included Nokia India Country Head Tarun Chhabra, Samsung President and CEO Southwest Asia J B Park, Cisco System India Managing Director Harish Krishnan, STL Managing Director and CEO Ankit Agarwal, Tejas Non-Executive Chairman N G Subramanium, Viasat India Managing Director Gautam Sharma, and Hughes Communications India CEO Shivaji Chatterjee.

Collaboration Between Academia and Industry

The Academicians and R&D in Telecommunications Sector SAC focused on fostering collaboration between academia and the telecom industry. Bharti Airtel MD Gopal Vittal joined this meeting, which aimed to bridge gaps between academic research and industry needs.

Scindia mentioned that varied schedules for initial presentations by these committees would unfold over the next few weeks. "Then we will be taking on each individual issue, delving into the details and devising an action plan, timelines, and actionable items so that we can take our sector forward," he said.

The six committees are seen as crucial to India's communication sector. "By forging these committees we hope to take the sector forward realising Prime Minister's goal of creating not only a self-reliant Bharat but a telecom superpower within India that we will hopefully transcend our boundaries in days to come," Scindia added.

The minister also met representatives from internet service providers, infrastructure committees, academia, and R&D committees. The discussions aimed at enhancing service delivery while addressing challenges faced by telecom operators.

The series of meetings reflect a concerted effort to align industry stakeholders towards common goals of innovation, infrastructure development, and consumer satisfaction in India's evolving telecom landscape.