Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday met three advisory groups on satellite, communications and electronics ecosystem and original equipment makers (OEMs) to discuss the issues related to satellite communications and telecom equipment.
In his first formal interaction with the industry stakeholders after taking charge, Scindia said the idea is to get feedback from the industry on the pain points so that they could be addressed, as well as initiatives which can be taken to ensure the sector can grow at a faster rate.
The department of telecommunications (DoT) has formed six committees to improve the sector. These panels involve OEMs, satellite communication companies, telecom service providers (TSPs), internet service providers (ISPs), electronics, and academicians and R&D experts in the telecom sector.
“We have done a fairly deep-dive into issues related to each one of these verticals,” he said, adding that through these consultations involving advisory groups, the government will know how to go about growing the particular sector.
“From drawing up a charter for sectoral priorities to deliberations on expanding the Indian market, this platform will form the bedrock of government-industry collaboration in telecom,” Scindia said in a post on X.
The meeting was attended by executives of companies such as Airtel, Jio, STL, Hughes, Nelco, OneWeb, among others. Telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal, member finance Manish Sinha, member technology Madhu Sinha, and other DoT officials were also part of the meeting.
Industry executives said the discussion mostly revolved around the broader policy framework in the satcom industry, satellite spectrum, the telecom Act implementation and the future road map.
“No specific points were discussed. It was more like an agenda-setting meeting wherein broad headings on how we should go about the growth of the industry were deliberated,” an executive said, on the condition of anonymity.
Another executive said that the status of the present telecom equipment manufacturing with a focus on export promotion was discussed.
“Met the advisory group comprising telecom OEMs. Deliberated on a range of issues to be tackled and addressed through collaborative intervention,” Scindia said.
“Together, we are committed to build a robust telecom OEM ecosystem in India, and thus, contribute to the government’s Make-In-India vision,” Scindia added.
The government will meet the remaining advisory groups on July 16.