PM Modi Unveils Bharat 6G Vision Document, Launches 6G R&D Test Bed

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area Office & Innovation Centre in India and launched the Bharat 6G Vision Document and the 6G R&D Test Bed. 

The event was held at Vigyan Bhawan and the ‘Call before u Dig’ app was also launched. The ITU is the specialized agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) of the United Nations. India signed a Host Country Agreement with ITU in March 2022, which will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Iran, enhancing coordination among nations and fostering mutually beneficial economic cooperation in the region. 

Ms Doreen-Bogdan Martin, Secretary-General of ITU, praised India’s leadership on the digital forefront of tech innovations and adoptions with game-changing initiatives like Aadhar, UPI among others that have turned India into a knowledge-based economy. She said India is a role model for countries looking for digital transformation to grow their economies, rethink their government services, attract investments, remake commerce and empower their people.

Here's a highlight from PM Modi's address at the inaugural ceremony!

Bharat 6G Vision Document launched

India has successfully launched 5G technology and now following its success, PM Modi has launched Bharat 6G Vision Document, which is a comprehensive roadmap for the development of 6G technology in India. It outlines the key focus areas that need to be addressed to make 6G a reality in India. Some of the key areas identified in the document include the development of next-generation wireless networks, the use of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the creation of a robust ecosystem for innovation and research in the field of telecommunications.

The document also emphasizes the need for collaboration between various stakeholders in the industry, including telecom operators, equipment manufacturers, startups, and academic institutions. The government is committed to providing the necessary policy and regulatory framework to support the development of 6G technology in India.

The launch of the Bharat 6G Vision Document is a significant step towards positioning India as a leader in the development and deployment of 6G technology. With the increasing demand for high-speed, low-latency connectivity, 6G is expected to play a crucial role in shaping the future of telecommunications. The document provides a roadmap for the development of 6G technology that is aligned with the needs of the industry and the country's overall economic and social development goals.

India's Efforts In Bridging The Technological Divide

The Prime Minister highlighted India's efforts in bridging the technological divide, saying that reducing regional divide is one of the country's key priorities. He underlined the importance of technology, design and standards as per the needs of the Global South as they are trying to rapidly breach the technological divide. The ITU Area Office and Innovation Centre is a huge step in this direction, he added.

The Prime Minister said as India is fulfilling its responsibilities as G20 Presidency, reducing regional divide is one of its key priorities. The Prime Minister referred to the recent Global South Summit and underlined the importance of technology, design and standards as per the needs of the Global South as Global South is trying to rapidly breach the technological divide. “ITU Area Office and Innovation Centre is a huge step in this direction and will also give momentum to India’s efforts to provide universal connectivity in the Global South”, he said.

India's Digital Transformation: Role Of Trust & Scale

The Prime Minister said that it is natural to have expectations from India in the context of bridging the global divide. He said that India’s capabilities, innovation culture, infrastructure, skilled and innovative manpower and its favourable policy environment are the basis of these expectations. “India has two key strengths - trust and scale. We can not take technology to all corners without trust and scale. The entire world is talking about India’s efforts in this direction”, he said.

The Prime Minister noted that India is now the most connected democracy in the world with more than a hundred crore mobile connections, and credited this transformation to the availability of cheap smartphones and data. He added that more than 800 crore digital payments are made every month in India through UPI and more than 7 crore e-authentications take place in India every day. He also mentioned that India has transferred more than 28 lakh crore rupees to the bank accounts of its citizens via Direct Benefit Transfers.

Telecom Technology For India Is A Mission To Empower

“Telecom technology for India is not a mode of power, but a mission to empower”, the Prime Minister remarked. He noted that digital technology is universal in India and accessible to everyone. Underlining that digital inclusion has happened on a large scale in India in the last few years, the Prime Minister mentioned that broadband connectivity had 60 million users in India before 2014 but that number has gone up to more than 800 million today. He further added that the number of internet connections in India is more than 85 crores compared to 25 crores before 2014.

Referring to the rural upsurge of internet use in India, the Prime Minister informed that the number of internet users in the villages has surpassed the urban areas indicating that digital power has reached every nook and corner of the country. He informed that 25 lakh km of optical fiber has been laid in India by the government and private sector in the last 9 years. “2 lakh gram panchayats have been connected by optical fiber and 5 lakh common service centers are giving digital services leading to a situation where the digital economy is expanding two and half times faster than the rest of the economy”, Shri Modi said.