New Delhi [India], April 24 : Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar on Friday urged the telecom industry to pivot towards design-led manufacturing, strengthen research and development (R&D), and actively participate in global technology standard-setting, warning that India risks remaining a "technology consumer" without strategic investments.
Addressing the COAI DigiCom Summit 2026 on Friday, Sekhar emphasised the need for building intellectual property (IP), patents, testing and certification ecosystems, and forming joint ventures with global technology leaders to enhance India's competitiveness in next-generation telecom technologies.
Highlighting emerging risks, the minister pointed to a rapidly evolving threat landscape marked by AI-generated scams, deepfakes, voice cloning, and international spoofing, noting that such threats are "steepening, not flattening," and require stronger telecom-level interventions, including enhanced KYC norms and gateway-level filtering of international calls.
He flagged low R&D spending as a critical concern, contrasting Indian telecom players' investment, typically below 1 per cent of revenues, with global firms such as Nokia and Ericsson, which invest between 15-25 per cent.
"Without adequate R&D, India risks being outpaced in AI-native networks and 6G standards," Sekhar cautioned, adding that participation in areas like AI-RAN, edge computing, and global standardisation bodies is essential to secure a leadership role.
Calling for a strategic shift, he said India must move beyond assembly-led growth to design-led manufacturing, backed by stronger export-oriented testing infrastructure and global partnerships to acquire advanced engineering capabilities.
The minister reiterated that the government remains supportive of the telecom sector, stressing that leadership understands industry economics and continues to pursue pro-reform and pro-innovation policies.
He noted that India's telecom growth has been driven by a strong partnership between government and industry, citing reforms such as the Telecommunications Act overhaul, spectrum rationalisation, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, and large-scale connectivity initiatives like BharatNet.
Sekhar underscored that while policy support will continue, industry players must take greater ownership in innovation, customer service, and responsible growth.
"India is at an inflection point. What we build in this decade will define the next 30-50 years. We must aim not just to follow global standards, but to write them," he said.
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