Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday stressed on the need on self-reliance in the entire manufacturing chain spread across hardware, software and cyber security. “It becomes easier to maintain security when everything in the value chain belongs to the national domain, be it hardware, software or connectivity,” Modi said while inaugurating the India Mobile Congress.
The comments from the PM comes at a time when India is shifting its focus on having more domestic supply chain partners in the manufacturing ecosystem, which is primarily dominated by Chinese players. Further, the government has been putting up measures and systems in place for supplies to come from trusted sources to prevent malware and cyber threats.
The government on Friday also awarded 100 5G Use Case labs to educational institutions across the country. In India, telcos have deployed 400,000 base transceiver stations (BTSs) that cover more than 97% of the cities and 80% of the population.
“India moved from the 5G rollout stage to 5G reach out stage,” Modi said, adding that the speed of median mobile broadband speeds has increased 3 times within one year. Lately, India’s position in terms of broadband speed also rose to 43rd from the 118th position.
“India is not only expanding the 5G network in the country but also laying emphasis on becoming a leader in 6G,” Modi said.
The Prime Minister also took a dig at the opposition with regard to lack of electronics and smartphone manufacturing ecosystem prior to 2014.
Modi said, now Google has talked about its plans to make Pixel phones in India. “Samsung Fold Five and Apple iPhone 15 are already being manufactured here,” he added.
The Prime Minister underlined the need to take the success in mobile and electronics manufacturing further. “For the success of both hardware and software in the tech ecosystem, it is important that we build a strong semiconductor manufacturing sector in India,” he said.
Modi said India’s startup ecosystem is among the top three in the world and has become increasingly important.
“Before 2014, India had 100 startups. Now, there are approximately 100,000 startups,” he said.
Modi also emphasised and urged the industry to make India a thought leader. “Today, when we are realising the goal of becoming a developed India, the transition of moving forward as thought leaders can bring revolutionary changes in the entire sector,” he said.