A ROBUST DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MISSION ROADMAP

India currently has 34 rural internet subscribers per 100 population. To further strengthen the digital infra, a sustained and comprehensive approach is needed

- CHANDRAJIT BANERJEE

INDIA has registered a multifold increase in digital adoption, making it the second-largest consumer internet market. Increased investments towards digital infrastructure will lead to quicker adoption of emerging technologies. To further strengthen the sector, a sustained and comprehensive approach is the need of the hour.

India currently has 34 rural internet subscribers per 100 population, and 1.75 lakh villages are connected on fibre. The government has taken major initiatives under the Digital India programme to provide internet access and connectivity to all areas, including rural and remote locations.

Emerging technologies and very high-speed broadband connectivity necessitate attention to several challenges, ranging from the manufacturing of products to the last-mile delivery of services.

The first priority is digital infrastructure buildout, which is critical for economic growth, job creation and the provision of services. India has a large optical fibre cable network in the public and private sector that constitutes its digital highways and is progressively increasing its per capita availability. About 30% of the existing 6,40,000 telecom towers are fiberised and the remaining need to be done speedily.

In the 5G ecosystem, the number of towers is likely to grow to about two million and close to 80% of these would need optical fibre cable backhaul. Further, the existing fibre-optic network would require upgradation and under the BharatNet 1, would have to be augmented to a ring architecture to maintain services, despite fibre cuts.