Lok Sabha Question No. 402 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-12
Subject: National Digital Communication Policy
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: Shrirang Appa Barne, VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT, VINOD KUMAR BOIANAPALLI, SHIVAJI ADHALRAO PATIL, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE, ANANDRAO  ADSUL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 402 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12 th   DECEMBER, 2018

## NATIONAL DIGITAL COMMUNICATION POLICY

402.   SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI VINAYAK BHAURAO RAUT:

SHRI B.VINOD KUMAR:

SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJIRAO:

DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI ANANDRAO ADSUL:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  regulatory  barriers  and  regulatory  burdens  hampered  the  investment, innovation and consumer interest in telecom sector;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Union Government has notified the National Digital Communications Policy, 2018 for improvement in the regulatory framework for attracting investment and ensuring fair competition, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) whether the aforesaid policy proposes to amend the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and related acts including restructuring of the legal, licensing and regulatory framework;
- (e) if so, the details thereof and the time by when the aforesaid amendment is likely to be made;
- (f) the other major features of the policy; and
- (g) the time by which new policy is likely to be implemented?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (IC) OF THE MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS & MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)

- (a) to (g)  After approval of the Union Cabinet, the National Digital Communications Policy  2018  (NDCP  2018)  was  notified  on  22  October  2018  with  a  vision  to  support India's

transition  to  a  digitally  empowered  economy  and  society.  Regulatory  reform  is  not  a one-off  effort,  but  a  dynamic,  long-term  and  multidisciplinary  process.  The  Policy accordingly,  recognises  the  importance  of  continued  improvement  in  the  regulatory framework for attracting investments and ensuring fair competition, to serve the needs of Indian citizens and aims at:

-  Attracting long-term, high quality and sustainable investments
-  Pursuing  regulatory reforms  to ensure  that the regulatory structures  and processes remain relevant, transparent, accountable and forward-looking.

Amending the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and other relevant Acts for the purpose of  convergence  and  restructuring  of  legal,  licensing  and  regulatory  frameworks  for reaping the benefits of convergence have been envisaged in the Policy for enabling Infrastructure Convergence of IT (Information Technology), telecom and broadcasting.

The key objectives of the NDCP 2018 are:

1.  Provisioning of Broadband for all
2.  Creating 4 Million additional jobs in the Digital Communications sector
3.  Enhancing the contribution of the Digital Communications sector to 8% of India's GDP from ~ 6% in 2017
4.  Propelling India to the Top 50 Nations in the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Development Index of ITU (International Telecommunication Union) from 134 in 2017
5.  Enhancing India's contribution to Global Value Chains
6.  Ensuring Digital Sovereignty.

7.

The NDCP 2018 objectives and goals are to be achieved by year 2022.

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