Why in news?
In July 2025, the Ministry of Communications released the draft National Telecom Policy (NTP) 2025. The policy outlines India’s telecom priorities for 2025‑2030 and seeks public feedback.
Background and objectives
- India’s telecom sector has expanded rapidly since liberalisation in the 1990s, but it still faces challenges such as limited rural coverage, heavy import dependence for equipment and uneven investment in research.
- Previous policies (1994, 1999, 2012) focused on increasing tele‑density and attracting private investment. The draft NTP 2025 aims to prepare the sector for emerging technologies like 6G and quantum communication and aligns with the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
Key features
- Domestic equipment push: The policy proposes incentives for telecom operators using locally manufactured equipment. It aims to substitute half of imported telecom gear with Indian‑made products.
- Research and innovation: India plans to double its spending on telecom R&D, support around 500 tech start‑ups and capture about 10 percent of global 6G‑related intellectual property rights.
- Universal connectivity: Targets include 100 percent 4G coverage and 90 percent 5G coverage by 2030, upgrading BharatNet to connect all gram panchayats with 98 percent uptime and expanding fixed‑line broadband to 100 million households.
- Jobs and skills: The policy hopes to create around one million new jobs and upskill another one million workers in areas such as 6G, network security and quantum communications.
- Exports and investment: Doubling telecom exports and attracting ₹1 trillion in annual investments are among the targets.
- Secure and green networks: Equipment audits will help weed out non‑trusted hardware, and the sector aims to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent through clean energy and efficient deployment.
Significance
- The policy is designed to reduce dependence on foreign suppliers, boost domestic manufacturing and position India as an innovation hub for 6G and beyond.
- By expanding fibre and broadband infrastructure, the policy seeks to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas.
- Success will depend on timely implementation, effective coordination among ministries and alignment with other schemes such as the production‑linked incentive programme.