Lok Sabha Question No. 2545 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-10
Subject: Digital Infrastructure
Ministry: COMMUNICATIONS
Asked by: B. Y. Raghavendra, Nalin Kumar Kateel, D.K. Suresh, Sumalatha Ambareesh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2545 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10 TH  MARCH, 2021

## DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE

2545.   SHRI B.Y. RAGHAVENDRA: SHRI NALIN KUMAR KATEEL: SHRI D.K.SURESH:

SHRIMATI SUMALATHA AMBAREESH:

Will the Minister of COMMUNICATIONS  be pleased to state:

(a) whether India's digital infrastructure is on par with that of countries like China, US, South Korea, Japan,  etc.,  to  support  fast  broadband  technologies  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  if  not,  the  reasons therefor;

(b) whether  National  Digital  Communications  Policy  (NDCP)  proposes  to  strengthen  the  country's digital infrastructure to make it on par with that of aforesaid countries and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether the Government has set any targets under NDCP and if so, the details thereof along with the achievements made by the Government thereunder, target wise; and

(d) whether the Government is making any special efforts to achieve ten million Wi-Fi hotspots by 2022 and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a) to (c) The National Digital  Communications  Policy-2018  was  launched  by  the  Government  of India with a vision to fulfill the information and communication needs of citizens and enterprises through the  establishment  of  a  ubiquitous,  resilient,  secure,  accessible  and  affordable  Digital  Communications Infrastructure, supporting high speed broadband technologies, at par with the digitally developed countries like  China,  US,  South  Korea,  Japan  etc.  The  policy  aims  to  support  India's  transition  to  a  digitally empowered economy and society. This target will be achieved by accomplishing the strategic objectives of provisioning of broadband for all; creating 4 Million additional jobs in the digital communications sector; enhancing the contribution of the digital communications sector to 8% of India's GDP from ~ 6% in 2017; propelling India to the top 50 Nations in the ICT Development Index of ITU from 134 in 2017; enhancing India's contribution to Global Value Chains; and ensuring digital sovereignty. The achievements made so far are placed at Annexure.

(d) At present about 5 lakh Wi-Fi access points are working across the country. The Government has recently  approved  'Prime  Minister  Wireless  Access  Network  Interface  (PM-WANI)'  framework  to enhance proliferation  of  broadband across  the  country  through  Public  Wi-Fi  Networks.  This  framework envisages setting up of public Wi-Fi  hotspots by entrepreneurs.

## SN Strategic Objectives of the National Digital Communications Policy-2018 and Achievements thereof

## 1 Provisioning of Broadband for All:

The Government has launched National Broadband Mission to provide affordable and universal access of broadband  for  all.  Several  Universal  Service  Obligation  Fund  (USOF)  projects  and  schemes  such  as BharatNet,  Comprehensive  Telecom  Development  Plan  (CTDP)  for  North  Eastern  Region,  CTDP  for Islands, and Provision of telecom towers in Left Wing Extremism affected areas are being implemented for achieving this objective.

## 2 Creating 4 Million additional jobs in the Digital Communications sector:

Initiatives taken by the Government and Telecom Service providers have boosted the economic activity such as e-commerce, telecom operations, cable TV operations, etc. in the remote and difficult areas of the country. This  has  resulted  in  creating  several  job  opportunities.  The  recently  approved  PM-WANI  framework  will further  boost  such  economic  activities  and  create  sizeable  number  of  jobs  in  the  country  and  encourage entrepreneurs.

## 3 Enhancing the contribution of the Digital Communications sector to 8% of India's GDP from ~ 6% in 2017:

Digital Communications is playing a central role in driving the larger economic activities in the country. The sector has given a fillip to significantly increase uptake of services in e-Commerce, FinTech, HealthTech, EdTech, AgriTech, UrbanTech, etc. Major services by Government to citizens and Government to businesses are  also  primarily  delivered  through  the  underlying  telecommunications, especially in the aftermath of the pandemic. Consumption of these services has led to 5 times growth of the wireless data consumption in the country. In parallel, average per GB tariff has dropped by almost 95% in 4 years.

## 4 Propelling India to the Top 50 Nations in the ICT Development Index of ITU from 134 in 2017:

The ICT Development Index was last published by the ITU in 2017.  Since then, it has not been published.

## 5 Enhancing India's contribution to Global Value Chains:

Enhancement of India's contribution to the Global Value Chain is a continuous process. Several steps such as liberalizing  spectrum  licensing  norms  for  experimentation  and  research,  simplification  of  Import  License requirements for domestic OEMs have been taken to enable India as manufacturing hub.

In comparison to 2017-18, the imports of Telecom equipment (including mobile phones, parts and telecom cables)  has  reduced  and  the  export  has  increased  continuously,  as  under,  thereby  enhancing  India's contribution to Global Value Chains:

| Year    | Export* (Rs. Crore)   | Imports* (Rs. Crore)   |
|---------|-----------------------|------------------------|
| 2017-18 | 11,023                | 1,49,546               |
| 2018-19 | 22,583                | 1,33,585               |
| 2019-20 | 37,963                | 1,06,195               |

*Source: Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics

## 6 Ensuring Digital Sovereignty:

There  are  provisions  available  in  the  Indian  Telegraph  Act-1885  and  the  Indian  Telegraph  Rules  made thereunder to protect secrecy, privacy & confidentiality of communications. Further, appropriate conditions have  been  incorporated  in  the  Unified  Telecom  License  for  protection  of  privacy  and  confidentiality  of communications over the telecommunications networks.

Security  testing  framework  is  under  the  overall  framework  of  Mandatory  Testing  and  Certification  of Telecom Equipment (MTCTE).

The Government has recently notified the 'National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector' which envisages for identification of trusted source and trusted products for telecom sector.

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