Driving the telecom sector growth

Recognising its potential to propel India towards the USD 5 trillion economy goal, the budget lays down the foundation for robust telecom sector growth

- PEEYUSH VAISH

On Wednesday, 1 February 2023, while presenting the Union Budget 2023 in Lok Sabha, Finance foundation of Amrit Kaal and specified seven priorities to act as 'Saptarishi' or the seven stars for guiding the vision of an empowered and inclusive economy.

The government has long recognised the telecom industry's potential to propel India towards its goal of a USD 5 trillion GDP by FY 2025-26. While introducing 5G earlier this year, the Prime Minister described it as a significant step towards the objective of Viksit Bharat Abhiyan, the developed India mission. The Finance Minister announced the establishment of 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services. These labs will be set up in engineering institutions to realise the new range of opportunities, business models and employment potential. The idea is to leverage 5G technology to create applications in areas such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems and health care. This clearly shows the government's intention to encourage 5G use cases and help unlock a plethora of opportunities for the telecom sector.