Connectivity is a constitutional duty, not commodity: Scindia to telcos

Business Standard

27-05-2025

Telecom service providers must rethink providing connectivity not as a commodity but as a constitutional commitment keeping in mind key factors like affordability, availability, accessibility with blazing data speeds, Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday.
While speaking at an event organised by internet service providers body ISPAI and government-backed Nixi, the minister said five days ago India has moved from being the 5th largest economy in the world to become the 4th largest, and he takes pride in representing telecom which is growing at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14 to 16 per cent as well as with the CAGR of 12-13 per cent in northeast.
"You are the engineers of equity. You are the builders of bridges. And you are the keepers of the digital flame of India. Reimagine connectivity not necessarily as a commodity but a constitutional commitment," the minister said.
He asked telecom operators and internet service providers (ISP) to follow six foundational pillars for connectivity, which are affordability, availability, accessibility, quality, safety and focus on emerging technologies such as AI and IoT.
The minister said that in India, where 1 GB of data used to cost Rs 287, at present costs only about Rs 9.
"At 11 cents, India is the cheapest data provider in the world today. The average global cost is USD 2.59," Scindia said.
He said that if data is liquid gold or black oil, then India is the home of that liquid gold and black oil.
"There is no reason why India should not be the data capital of the world. The prime minister has very clearly said that if this is India's century, and it truly is India's century, India has grown in one decade from the 11th largest economy in the world to the 5th largest economy in the world," the minister said.
He asked internet service providers to leverage rural broadband project Bharatnet to expand connectivity across the country.
The minister said that the National Broadband Mission with Rs 1,39,000 crore worth of investment is the largest governmental investment in the world that will provide a network to each and every village across the length and breadth of the country.
"The prime minister has resolved that through NBM 2.0, we must connect every single village, but not only every single village, we must connect every single school. And we must connect every single hospital. Because it is our fiduciary responsibility," Scindia said.
He said NBM 2.0 will ensure 95 per cent uptime of the broadband network and a minimum of 100 Mbps speed across the whole network.