"India has become highway of communication", says Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia

Speaking at Times Network's India Economic Conclave in New Delhi, the union minister said, "The fact that you have 116 crore subscribers today in India, the Internet capacity has gone from 250 million 10 years ago to 954 million today. Broadband, which is greater than 2GB, has grown from 60 million subscribers to 920 million subscribers. That's the scale that India has gone through.""The amount of data that each individual one of us in this room and outside consumes has gone from less than one GB to 20 GB per month. And on the other flip side of the story, the cost used to cost 51 paise per minute for a voice call. Today is 3 paise per minute; one GP of data used to cost 280 bucks; today, it's 9 rupees and 18 paise. So costs have come down 97 percent. The size of markets has grown 20x," the Union Minister added.

Scindia emphasised the sheer scale of progress: the number of mobile subscribers has surged to 1.16 billion, with broadband users growing exponentially from 60 million to 920 million in the past decade. Internet capacity has also expanded from 250 million to 954 million users.

"India today has become a huge highway of communication," he said, underscoring the pivotal role telecom has played in everyday life.

He further added that the cost of mobile services has seen a dramatic reduction, making communication affordable for all.

"Simultaneously, data consumption has skyrocketed, with the average user consuming 20 GB per month," he added.

The minister underlined India's leadership in digital innovation, stating that countries like Germany and Japan lag behind in transactional digital capabilities.

"This strength not only empowers Indians but also enhances India's standing as a contributor to global growth. We can take to the world and that that's where our soft power comes in as well. Because India does not grow at any other country's expense India, grows and makes the world grow with it," Scindia stated. (ANI)