IMC 2024: PM Modi inaugurates Asia’s biggest tech event
New Delhi| The 8th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC), Asia’s biggest tech event, has began from Tuesday. This mega tech event organized in partnership with Department of Telecommunications and COAI was inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi. During this, Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia was also present with him. Earlier, PM Modi also inaugurated the ITU-WTSA to be organized for the first time at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi. The event is being organized by the World Telecommunication Stendrification Assembly (WTSA) of the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia mentioned the growing influence of India’s telecom sector during IMC 2024. Referring to the tremendous infrastructure of mobile phones in India, the Union Communications Minister said that when a family gets a mobile phone, they have access to many essential services. These include everything from banking services to government welfare schemes.
Jyotiraditya Scindia said about India’s mobile and broadband connectivity that at present the number of mobile users in India has increased from 904 million i.e. 90 crores to 1.16 billion i.e. 116 crores. At the same time, optical fibre (OFC) penetration in India has increased from 11 million kilometres to 41 million kilometres.
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia mentioned the growing influence of India’s telecom sector during IMC 2024. Referring to the tremendous infrastructure of mobile phones in India, the Union Communications Minister said that when a family gets a mobile phone, they have access to many essential services. These include everything from banking services to government welfare schemes.
During this, Vi Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has also mentioned the roadmap of Vodafone-Idea to stop fake calls, messages and phishing. The company is working shoulder to shoulder with the government and the regulatory body for this.
In his address after inaugurating IMC 2024, PM Modi said that India is today one of the most Happening countries in the world in terms of telecom and technology. India where there are 120 crore or 1200 million mobile users, India where there are 95 crore or 950 million internet users, India where more than 40 percent of the world’s real time digital transactions take place, India which has shown digital connectivity by making it an effective tool of last mile delivery There, discussion on the standard and future of global telecommunication will also become a medium for global quality.
PM Modi said that it is also very important for WTSA and IMC to be together. WTSA aims to work on the Global Standard. At the same time, the role of India Mobile Congress is linked with services. PM Modi further said that today India is focusing a lot on quality of service. We are also giving special emphasis on our standards. In such a situation, the experience of WTSA will give a new energy to India. WTSA talks about impoverishing the whole world. India Mobile Congress talks about empowering the entire world through connectivity.
PM Modi further said, India’s mobile and telecom journey in the 21st century is a subject of study for the whole world. Mobile and telecom have been seen as a convenience in the world, but India’s model has been different. In India, we have made mobile and telecom not just a medium of connectivity but a medium of equity. This medium is working to reduce the distance between villages, cities, rich and poor.
Four Pillars of Digital India
The price of the device should be low.
Digital connectivity should reach every corner of the country.
Data should be accessible to everyone.
Digital first should be our goal.
PM Modi said that when we thought about Digital India 10 years ago, we worked on these four pillars first. We have worked together to make mobiles cheaper in India. In 2014 where there were only two mobile manufacturing units, there are now more than 200 units. We have not stopped at this. Now we are also working on semiconductor manufacturing.
For better mobile connectivity in India, we have installed thousands of mobile towers in a very short time in the border and remote hilly areas. We have installed Wi-Fi at railway stations and public places to provide internet connectivity to everyone. India has laid undersea optical fiber cable to provide connectivity to Andaman. The length of the OFC that India has laid out in just 10 years is 8 times the distance of the Earth and the Moon.
PM Modi said that India has done unprecedented work in the telecom sector. We’ve rolled out 5 G the fastest and are also preparing for 6 G. Internet data costs about 12 cents per GB in India, while data per GB costs 10 times that in many countries of the world. We consume 30GB of data per user. India has democratized digital technology.
PM Modi has talked about establishing regulations and guidelines using technology to protect people from cyber crime. For this, emphasis has been asked to be laid on securing telecommunication with global institutes and frameworks. Technology is being used for people’s welfare. Schemes like Drone Didi to Mahila E-Haat for women are being run in India, which is an example of India’s digital revolution.
