INDIA’S TELECOM SECTOR



  • India’s telecommunication network is the second largest in the world by number of telephone users (both fixed and mobile phone) with 1.053 billion subscribers as on 31 August 2016. It has one of the lowest call tariffs in the world enabled by mega telecom operators and hyper-competition among them. India has the world’s second-largest Internet user-base. As on 31 March 2016, there were 342.65 million internet subscribers in the country. Indian telecom industry underwent a high pace of market liberalisation and growth since the 1990s and now has become the world’s most competitive and one of the fastest growing telecom markets.


  • The Industry has grown over twenty times in just ten years, from under 37 million subscribers in the year 2001 to over 846 million subscribers in the year 2011.


  • Telecommunication has supported the socioeconomic development of India and has played a significant role to narrow down the rural-urban digital divide to some extent.


  • The rapid strides in the telecom sector have been facilitated by liberal policies of the Government that provides easy market access for telecom equipment and a fair regulatory framework for offering telecom services to the Indian consumers at affordable prices. (Source: Wikipedia)


  • The exponential growth witnessed by the telecom sector in the past decade has led to the development of the telecom equipment manufacturing and other supporting industries. With the advent of next-generation technologies and 3G and Broadband Wireless Access Services rolled out by operators, the demand for telecom equipment has increased. In an attempt to capitalize on this opportunity, the government and policymakers are focusing on developing the domestic manufacturing industry. The Indian equipment manufacturing sector has come a long way in the past few years. From being an import-centric industry, it is slowly but steadily moving towards becoming a global telecom equipment manufacturing hub.


  • The government is offering various sops to industry to boost domestic manufacturing in the field of electronics.


  • According to a report by leading research firm Market Research Store, the Indian telecommunication services market will likely grow by 10.3 per cent year-on-year to reach US$ 103.9 billion by 2020.




National Test House [NTH],



  • The National Test House [NTH], formerly known as Government Test House was established long way back in 1912 in Calcutta by the then Railway Board to cater to the needs of the Indian Railways by import substitution. During 1916-1918 the Indian Industrial Commission recommended for an Indian Stores Department and the same was formed which absorbed NTH for regular testing of the general stores required by the Government Departments including Defense Department for a long period. In 1934 the Industrial Intelligence and Research Bureau later re-designated as Industrial Research Bureau, the genesis of modern CSIR, was formed by the Government of India and was housed and nurtured in NTH for conducting researches on problems directly connected with the indigenous development of raw materials.


  • Thus NTH has travelled a long way and has established its importance in the panorama of the Indian industry. Since independence the responsibilities of NTH have increased manifold. It has been actively involved in all aspects of technology connected with industry, commerce, trade, import substitution, export promotion and standardization. NTH has been an active partner in standardization and formulation of National Standards and has the proud privilege of assisting Indian Standards Institution presently known as Bureau of Indian Standards since its very inception in 1947. NTH is also actively involved in rendering assistance to NABL in accreditation of Testing and Calibration Laboratories in the country.


  • To serve the long felt necessities of the Indian industry spreading over this vast subcontinent, it was envisaged to open Regional Test Houses in various parts of the country. The NTH has now six regional Laboratories located in the Eastern, Western, Southern, Northern, North West and North East of the country.




Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC)



  • Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) has been set up by the Government of India to promote and develop export of Telecom Equipment and Services.


  • TEPC as a Council plays a critical role in furtherance of Telecom export from India and assist Indian member companies in easy facilitation of their respective exports. The Council caters to the complete Telecom Ecosystem including Telecom Hardware Manufacturing, Telecom Service Provision, Telecom Software, and Consultancy. It thus represents the strength of Equipment Manufacturers, System Integrators, Service Providers and other stakeholders in the telecom domain.


  • TEPC recognizes the strengths of building a design-led manufacturing ecosystem for telecom products and the Government is committed to further support the creation of domestic products and enable manufacturing with high domestic value-addition. India is poised for another digital revolution given the massive thrust on “Make in India” initiative & launch of “Digital India” campaign, which creates a large opportunity for innovative products and services.