Focus on products where software differentiation is key: Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani tells start-ups
India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025 on Tuesday organised a Roadshow in Bengaluru. Speaking at the event, he asked partners and innovators to focus on core technologies.
"As someone who has built and run businesses, I understand the pressure to chase quick valuation. But real success - the kind that lasts - comes when you solve problems that matter to people. The government is ready to back you - not as a regulator alone, but as a collaborator - through TTDF (Telecom Technology Development Fund), shared infrastructure, and policy backing," he said.
He also said that the digital transformation has been extraordinary with 1.2 billion mobile subscribers, 1 billion broadband users and over 2.2 lakh villages connected through BharatNet.
He said nearly 1 billion access broadband, a massive 1,452% jump from 2014.
"We are now investing $18 billion more to connect 40,000 additional gram panchayats and 1.5 crore rural households with high-speed internet. From importing 75% of our mobile devices, we are now exporting Rs 1.8 trillion worth of devices annually," he said.
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