India releases draft National Telecom Policy 2025

New policy in response to next-generation technologies.

The Department of Telecommunications in India has published the country's draft National Telecom Policy 2025 (NTP-25), seeking to gather comments from the public.

Described as "India’s vision for its digital future," NTP-25 consists of these strategic missions: universal and meaningful connectivity; fostering innovation; promoting domestic manufacturing; ensuring secure and trusted network; enhancing ease of living and doing business; and advancing sustainable development.

In the draft, which is being circulated for feedback as part of a public consultation, the abovementioned missions are supported by their respective goals for 2030 and targeted strategies.

"Building upon the achievements of the National Digital Communications Policy 2018, this Policy responds to the emerging opportunities and challenges presented by next-generation technologies such as 5G/6G, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, quantum communications, satellite network, and blockchain," reads part of the document's preamble.

"These innovations are reshaping global value chains, and India is uniquely positioned to leverage them to bridge the digital divide, foster inclusive growth, and establish itself as a global digital powerhouse."

Amidst what India calls "rapid digital convergence," the aim is to set the direction for a telecom environment that is resilient, secure, inclusive, and sustainable.

Part of the proposed NTP-25 reads: "The Policy would enable an agile, future-ready regulatory and policy ecosystem that promotes collaboration between government, industry, academia, startups, and international standard forums. With this Policy, India aims to emerge not only as a leading consumer of digital technologies, but also as a trusted global provider of telecom products, services, and solutions.

"NTP-25 would position India to become the manufacturer of choice of telecom products for the world. It outlines a comprehensive roadmap for investment in research, upskilling of the workforce, infrastructure modernisation, and effective spectrum management to support in a sustainable manner for emerging use cases across smart cities, industry 4.0, rural broadband, emergency response, and digital governance."

The 2030 targets of NTP-25 include doubling the following: the export of telecom products and services, the number of telecommunications startups, and the contribution of India's telecom sector to the country's gross domestic product. Via NTP-25, India also seeks to create one million new jobs in the telecom industry while at the same time upskilling or reskilling one million workers.

"In sum, the NTP-25 sets a bold and inclusive trajectory for the next decade – empowering every Indian with meaningful connectivity, driving innovation-led growth, reinforcing digital sovereignty, and securing India's place in the global digital economy," policymakers note in the draft.

The Indian public has until the middle of August to email their comments to [email protected].