JOIN USWait for 5G is over, India's 'Techade' is here: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said 5G mobile services will start soon.
Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the 75th anniversary of Independence, the PM said, "Today we are all set to enter the 5G era. You don’t have to wait too long before we match the global steps."
"India's techade is here. With 5G, semiconductor manufacturing & Optical Fibre Cable (OFCs) in villages, we are bringing a revolution through Digital India to the grassroots level," Modi said.
"We are ensuring that optical fiber reaches each and every village until the last mile. I am fully informed that the dream of Digital India will be attained through the rural India. Today I am happy that four lakh Common Service Centers of India are being developed in villages which are being managed by the youth of that village," the PM said.
"This Digital India movement of developing semiconductors, entering 5G era, spreading the network of optical fibers is not just to establish ourselves as modern and developed, but it is possible because of three intrinsic missions. The complete transformation of education ecosystem, revolution in health infrastructure and improvement in quality of lifestyles of the citizens will be possible only through digitalization," he said.
Recently, the Department of Telecom completed 5G auction which holds the promise of offering 10 times faster speeds and lag-free connectivity. The goverment said it will start allotting spectrum to telecom firms soon.
Bharti Airtel will start rolling out 5G services this month and cover all towns and key rural areas of the country by March 2024. Jio has completed 5G coverage planning in top 1,000 cities and conducted field trials of its home-grown 5G telecom gear.
“Complete revolution in education is going to come through the digital medium. Revolution in health services is going to come from the digital medium. Any big revolution in life is going to come through the digital medium. This decade is the time of ‘techade’ for India. It is a decade of technology,” he said.
While the country is addressing energy security by increasing focus on renewable sources, biofuels and hydrogen, it is promoting domestic manufacturing through schemes such as PLI that provide Rs 1 lakh crore of incentives to local production units.
"Through the PLI schemes, we are becoming the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. People are coming to India to Make In India," he said
"Be it manufacturing of electronic goods or mobile phones, today the country is progressing at a very fast pace," the PM said.