TELECOM'S GREEN SIGNAL FOR GROWTH

As technology leads India's sustainable transition, innovations like 5G and green energy are paving the way for inclusive growth and environmental stewardship

- DR SP KOCHHAR

Our best bet in balancing progress and preservation lies in technology and intelligent communications networks. This is easy to see. Take India’s telecom sector, for instance. As the world’s second-largest, it plays a pivotal role in fuelling the country’s GDP growth, creating millions of jobs, and driving a multiplier effect across society and businesses.

India’s telecom industry has been at the forefront of remote work, a necessity during the Covid years that has persisted post-pandemic. The success of India’s telecom sector is reflected not only in its impressive performance metrics—strong subscriber growth, high usage, and low tariffs—but also in its transformative impact on lives and livelihoods. With a subscriber base exceeding 1.2 billion today and some of the world’s lowest tariffs driving service affordability, India stands among the largest data consumers globally.

GREEN DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

The true transformative power of telecommunications lies in its ability to accelerate economic, social, and environmental progress, offering the promise of sustainable development. Reducing carbon footprints is a boardroom agenda for both the telecom sector and other industries. Telecom service providers in India are proactively embedding sustainability into their operations, extensively using green energy at network sites and data centres.

Committed to achieving the Net Zero objective by 2050, telecom companies are taking active steps to reduce their carbon footprint through initiatives like energy-efficient green data centres, energy optimisation, and the adoption of renewable energy sources.