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Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia today said India is uniquely positioned to become the "Data Capital of the World," backed by the lowest data and voice rates globally and a strong focus on improving service quality and universal connectivity.
Speaking at the inaugural session of the Satcom Summit - Space Networks for Universal Connectivity on the sidelines of the India Mobile Congress, Scindia said the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is working closely with telecom service providers (TSPs) and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to enhance quality of service through globally benchmarked standards. "Within DoT, on a monthly basis, we are putting together international benchmarks with a glide path to strengthen and tighten those benchmarks. All four TSPs are now presenting their data to DoT and TRAI every month," Scindia said. He added that the government is paying close attention to key parameters such as Mobile Number Portability (MNP) to ensure a seamless experience for India's 1.2 billion telecom customers. "There should be no hindrance or inconvenience to any customer who wants to port from one service to another," the minister said. Scindia reiterated that India's telecom sector remains deregulated and industry-driven, with the government focusing on enabling frameworks and consumer protection. "It is a deregulated sector, and that is going to be the choice of industry. Economies of scale have worked hugely in favour of India, in favor of our consumers, and in favor of our telcos," he said. Highlighting India's success in bringing down telecom costs, Scindia pointed out that the voice rate has fallen from 50 paise per minute 11 years ago to just 0.03 paise today, while data costs have dropped from Rs 287 per GB to Rs 9 per GB, among the lowest in the world. "You translate that, we're talking about 11 cents against a world average of USD 2.49 per GB. India is operating at less than 5% of international data costs," Scindia said. He concluded that such affordability and access, combined with innovation in satellite and space-based connectivity, will make India a global leader in digital and data-driven growth. "India, through this capability, should become and will become the data capital of the world," Scindia asserted.(ANI)
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