After 5G success, India aims to lead in 6G: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday praised the rollout of 5G telecom networks in the country and the progress of the technology sector, calling them crucial for India’s transition to a developed economy.

- Aditi Agrawal

Modi, speaking at the India Mobile Congress with several industry leaders in attendance, launched the government’s 5G Use Case Labs for educational institutes, which will help drive innovation in 5G-based applications for domains such as agriculture, education and health.

“Internet connectivity and improvement in speeds also improves ease of living. When internet speed increases, a student connects with a teacher, a patient connect with a doctor, and farmers learn new techniques to improve their productivity,” he said, linking connectivity to improvements in “social and economic well-being”.

“India is not only expanding the 5G network in the country but also laying emphasis on becoming a leader in 6G,” Modi added.

The PM said that in the year since the first 5G, or fifth generation, mobile communications were rolled out, 97% of the cities and 80% of the population has been covered. “But we did not stop at that success, and we began to work on making sure every citizen had access to it. From roll-out, we went to the reach-out stage.”