The next phase in infotech growth

India must look beyond employment and export growth to innovation that can compete with the US and China

- NITIN DESAI

My column last month focused on the international governance of the internet. This month, I turn to the national strategy in India for future information technology (IT) development.

Over the past three-plus decades, the most significant substantive advance in India has been in the provision of new information and communication services. The two themes are closely connected. The spread of internet-related connectivity is deeply linked to the rapid transformation ofthe communication system — first through the rise in mobile phone availability and usability, and then with the emergence of smartphones.

The rapid development of information and communication services is one area where India has done well. This is evident in the expansion of cellular mobile phone users to 1.12 billion by early 2025, with over 70 per cent of them using smartphones. As for the internet, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reports about 1 billion internet subscribers as of June 2025. This vast expansion in information and communication services in India is a combination of substantial foreign companies entering India for the supply of phones and internet service, and effective public spending on communication service infrastructure.