The government on Wednesday said that production of telecom equipment has crossed Rs 18,000 crore in India under the production-linked incentive scheme as it announced ambitious plans for the country’s biggest digital event, the India Mobile Congress, that will be held from October 27-29 in the national capital.

Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the industry should look at scaling local production by 5-10 times on the back of supporting policies.

“How long can we only import and consume? We have to move beyond that… Today, with all your efforts, we have already crossed… Rs 18,000 crore telecom manufacturing under PLI (production linked incentive scheme) itself,” Vaishnaw said at the curtain raiser of the India Mobile Congress.

Pointing to India’s digital public infrastructure model that has received global recognition, the minister said, “We should create a model that if some country wants to adopt the India stack, they can do so by adopting a tech transfer model.”

The seventh edition of Asia’s premier digital technology exhibition, India Mobile Congress (IMC), co-hosted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), will be held from 27th – 29th October in New Delhi this year.
With the theme of ‘Global Digital Innovation’, IMC is being positioned as an ideal networking point and showcase for the industry, government, academics, and other key stakeholders in the technology ecosystem.

Last year at the IMC event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G services in India.

“This year, the key programs will put the spotlight on 6G, advancements in 5G networks, the increasing use of AI in telecommunications and other domains, Edge Computing, Industry 4.0, and the emergence of India stack,” according to a release.

IMC 2023 would also widen to related technology domains such as Broadcast, Sat-Com, Manufacturing, and Semiconductors through partnerships with various associations.