Communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday met Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani, and Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra, and other top industry executives to discuss sectoral issues and the road map ahead.
Based on the discussions, the department of telecommunications (DoT) will come up with an actionable plan to resolve the issues.
It was Scindia’s first formal interaction with the top executives of the telecom operators. In the hour-long meeting, the minister broadly said that the focus of the government and industry should be on customers’ interest, according to officials. The telcos discussed strategies to enhance service delivery and address challenges they faced. Futuristic and innovative areas of growth were also discussed.
“We’ve identified a deep agenda for all three committees. Now, the members of these committees and us will be working together. There are varied schedules for the first presentation of these committees over the next couple of weeks,” Scindia told reporters after the meeting.
“And then we will be taking each individual issue at a time, delving into the details, and devising an action plan with clear timelines and actionable items so that we can take our sector forward,” Scindia said.
DoT has formed six committees to improve the sector. These panels involve OEMs (original equipment makers), satellite communication companies, telecom service providers (TSPs), internet service providers (ISPs), electronics, and academicians and R&D experts in the telecom sector. On Monday, Scindia held talks with advisory groups on satellite communications, electronics ecosystem, and OEMs.
The minister also met representatives of internet service providers (ISPs) and infrastructure companies as well as those of academia and the research and development committee. Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) director general SP Kochhar was also present at the meeting with telcos. Airtel MD Gopal Vittal was part of the advisory group meeting with the academia and R&D committee.
According to DoT, the meeting with internet service providers focused on improving broadband penetration and infrastructure development. The ISPs highlighted the need for policy support to accelerate infrastructure rollout and enhance internet accessibility, particularly emphasising the deployment of advanced technologies like fiber optics and 5G.
In the meeting with R&D experts, issues such as domestic value addition in the telecom sector, need for India’s own standards in the telecom sector, higher cost of certification, and R&D funding were discussed.
The committee highlighted the importance of industry-academia partnerships in driving innovation and developing a skilled workforce for the telecom sector.
“We have had fruitful discussions with the minister. We are working with the government to enable domestic telecom equipment makers in the sector with a broader focus on AtmaNirbharta. We need encouragement to startups to create systems and chip products,” said Rakesh Bhatnagar, director general of VoICE, which represents telecom equipment players.
DoT said it aims to implement the recommendations and foster a productive and innovative environment for the growth of the telecom sector. The next meeting of the advisory groups is scheduled in August.