Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday met with Reliance Jio Chairman Akash Ambani, Bharti Enterprises Founder and Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Vodafone Idea CEO Akshaya Moondra to discuss ways to create an action plan for the sector.
The Minister also met with internet service providers and academicians to continue discussions on sectoral issues.
The meetings were part of the government’s consultations with the six new advisory committees formed by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to draw up a new agenda focused on growth and development.
“We have identified a rather 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 said.
The DoT 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, he stressed.
“The telecom service providers’ special advisory committee discussed strategies to enhance service delivery and address challenges faced by telecom operators,” the DoT said in a release. Among key issues discussed, futuristic and innovative areas of growth found a special focus.
Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal and S P Kocchar, Director General of the Cellular Operators Association of India, were also present at the meeting.
Sources said the telcos shared the progress of the ongoing nationwide 5G rollout, which has covered all districts in the country.
The meeting with internet service providers highlighted the need for policy support to accelerate infrastructure rollout and enhance internet accessibility, particularly emphasizing the deployment of advanced technologies like fiber optics and 5G.
The new committees are designed to facilitate a two-way dialogue with the government on critical matters such as technology promotion, R&D, go-to-market strategies for telecom products, promoting local manufacturing, and enabling the manufacturing ecosystem, the DoT has said.
Establishing industry-academia linkages, sharing new ideas, and resolving policy issues are also focal areas.
On Monday, the Minister had met with three of the seven advisory groups—satellite communications, electronics ecosystem, and original equipment makers (OEMs). The meetings attempted to make a deep dive into the issues related to satcom, production-linked incentives (PLI), and telecom equipment.
First Published: Jul 16 2024 | 8:00 PM IST
