'I'm minister of Indian consumers, that's my 1st responsibility'

Very few countries have as competitive telecom market as India, says Jyotiraditya Scindia, communication minister, at the 22nd edition of Delhi Dialogues

- Jyotiraditya Scindia

YOTIRADITYA Scindia is at the helm of the Ministry of Communication at a time when India has become a pioneer in the digital revolution, and his ministry is one of the driving forces behind the transformation. In his earlier avatar, Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation in the previous NDA government, oversaw the privatisation of Air India, probably one of the most significant achievements of the Modi government in the last 11 years.

Born into the royal family of Gwalior and fondly known as Rajaji, Scindia carries forward his family's rich political and social legacy, which has produced many political leaders, including his father, the late Madhavrao Scindia. A Harvard University graduate and an MBA from Stanford, Scindia is a politician with a rare combination of finesse and flamboyance. Excerpts:

Santwana Bhattacharya: When are we getting satellite connectivity?

For us, communication is not only a means of connecting people, but today, communication has become so vital that even if I use the word indispensable, it doesn't do justice to it. It has become a vital part of the development trajectory of every human being globally.

We provide the carriageway or the expressway through which rich content and information reach all seven billion people worldwide. The beauty of this expressway is that it is no longer just an MDR (Main District Road), an NH (National Highway), or part of major projects like the Quadrilateral, Bharat Mala, or IMEC (the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor). Instead, it is a global expressway connecting every Indian to the world.

And when I say that, I mean opportunity. Today, we have a wealth of talent that is not only sitting in our Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities but also rural towns and villages. And when you give ubiquitous connectivity to 1.4 billion people, you are providing ubiquitous opportunity. And that is what our communication network provides today.