By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
India’s digital economy contributes about 12–14 percent of India’s GDP and is expected to rise to 20% over the next decade, reflecting the increasing importance of the telecom and digital sectors as key drivers of the nation’s growth, Union Minister for Communications, Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said on Thursday.
He said India is the largest telecom market in the world having 1.2 billion subscribers, which is 20 percent of the world’s mobile subscribers.
Internet connectivity has surged from 250 million to 974 million users, while broadband connectivity has grown from 60 million to 934 million users in the last decade, he noted.
Interacting with the media at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025 at Yashobhoomi, New Delhi, Scindia said also Highlighted the transformative progress achieved in the last ten years. The Minister said, “The last 10 years have seen an exponential change in the telecom and digital sector. We have today 1.2 billion subscribers — it’s the largest penetrated market in the world. We have 20% of the world’s mobile subscribers. Internet connectivity has surged from 250 million to 974 million users, while broadband connectivity has grown from 60 million to 934 million users in the last decade, he added.
Scindia underlined that “The government, under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, has brought about two distinct changes. One, the role of government is less of a regulator and more of a facilitator. And second, the government has worked with other ministries and the private sector in a whole-of-government approach.”
He pointed out that as many as 30 ministries have come together to make IMC 2025 a grand success, reflecting this spirit of cooperation.
Speaking on India’s strides in indigenous telecom technology, the Union Minister highlighted that India is now the fifth country in the world with its own 4G stack, which was unveiled by the Prime Minister on 27th September 2025. Within a short span of just 20 months, India has developed a fully indigenous 4G system, which is now operational across 100,000 BSNL towers. He added that this stack will soon be scaled up and upgraded to 5G, underscoring the motto — “Build in India, Build for the World.”
The Union Minister further shared that the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for telecom manufacturing has witnessed remarkable success, achieving ₹91,000 crore in sales, ₹17,800 crore in exports, and creating over 20,000 new jobs. He also emphasised the evolving role of the telecom sector, stating that it is no longer a standalone vertical but an integrator — backward integrating into equipment and semiconductor manufacturing, and forward integrating into digital services and solutions.
Speaking on India’s leadership in emerging technologies, Scindia mentioned, “We also have the Bharat 6G Alliance, which is doing exceptional work. We’ve got 80-plus members, and coming together with the India Telecom Technology Development Fund and other schemes, we are assisting the B6GA with the goal of achieving at least 10% of global IP equities once the 6G standards are up.”