Government of India’s goal is to broaden and deepen the country’s electronic manufacturing ecosystem. At this juncture, National Policy on Electronics 2019 (NPE 2019) envisions positioning India as a global hub for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) by encouraging and driving capabilities in the country for developing core components, including chipsets, and creating an enabling environment for the industry to compete globally.

Electronics Hardware: In order to boost electronics manufacturing including semiconductors in the country and incentivize large investments in the electronics value chain as well as promote exports, following incentives under the Schemes have been notified:

Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing was notified on 1st April, 2020. PLI Scheme extends an incentive of 6% to 4% on incremental sales (over base year) of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India to eligible companies, for a period of five (5) years subsequent to the base year (FY 2019-20). Incentives are applicable under the scheme from 01.08.2020.

Over the tenure of PLI Scheme, the 16 approved companies are expected to lead to total production of more than INR 10,50,000 crore (INR 10.5 lakh crore). Out of the total production of INR 10,50,000 crore in the next 5 years, around 60% is expected to be contributed by exports of the order of INR 6,50,000 crore (INR 6.5 lakh crore). The companies approved under the scheme is expected to bring an additional investment in electronics manufacturing to the tune of INR 11,000 crore.

After the success of the First Round of PLI Scheme in attracting investments in mobile phone and electronic components manufacturing, Second Round of the PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing was launched on 11.03.2021 for incentivising Electronic Components. Under the Second Round, incentives of 5% to 3% have been extended on incremental sales (over base year i.e., FY 2019-20) of goods manufactured in India and covered under the target segment, to eligible companies, for a period of four (4) years. 16 companies have been approved under the second round of PLI Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing.

Over the tenure of Second Round, the 16 approved electronic component manufacturers are expected to generate a total production of upto INR 12,432 crore. The Second Round of the Scheme is expected to bring an additional investment in electronics manufacturing to the tune of INR 573 crore.

As per the quarter ending in September 2022, outcomes are as follows: Production: INR 2,03,952 Crore, Investment: INR 4,784 crore, Exports: INR 80,769 crore, Additional Employment: 40,916

Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for IT Hardware was notified on 3rd March, 2021. The PLI Scheme extends an incentive of 4% to 2% / 1% on net incremental sales (over base year i.e., FY 2019-20) of goods under target segments that are manufactured in India to eligible companies, for a period of four years (FY 2021-22 to FY 2024-25). The target IT hardware segments under the Scheme include Laptops, Tablets, All-in-One Personal Computers (PCs) and Servers. Incentives are applicable under the Scheme from 01.04.2021. 14 companies have been approved under the PLI Scheme for IT Hardware.

Over the tenure of Scheme, the 14 approved companies under the Scheme are expected to lead to total production of about INR 1,60,000 crore. Out of the total production of INR 1,60,000 crore in the next 4 years, more than 37% is expected to be contributed by exports of the order of INR 60,000 crore. The scheme is expected to bring an additional investment in electronics manufacturing to the tune of INR 2,500 crore.

As per the quarter ending in September 2022, outcomes are as follows: Production: INR 4,138 Crore, Investment: INR 129.68 crore, Additional Employment: 514 direct jobs

Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) was notified on 1st April 01, 2020. The SPECS Scheme provides financial incentive of 25% on capital expenditure for the identified list of electronic goods that comprise downstream value chain of electronic products, i.e., electronic components, semiconductor / display fabrication units, ATMP units, specialized sub-assemblies and capital goods for manufacture of aforesaid goods.

The Scheme is open to receive applications till 31.03.2023. Over the tenure of SPECS Scheme, the expected new investment in Electronic Components and sub-assemblies is INR 20,000 crore. The total employment potential of the scheme is approximately 6,00,000 (1,50,000 direct employment and 4,50,000 indirect employment).

The Competent Authority has approved 32 applications till 30.09.2022 with total project outlay of INR 11,130 crore and committed incentives of INR 1,519 crore. The total employment generation potential of the approved applications is 32,457.

Modified Electronics Manufacturing Clusters (EMC 2.0) Scheme was notified on 1st April, 2020. The EMC 2.0 Scheme provides support for creation of world class infrastructure along with common facilities and amenities, including Ready Built Factory (RBF) sheds / Plug and Play facilities for attracting major global electronics manufacturers along with their supply chain to set up their production facility in the country.

The Scheme provides financial assistance for setting up of both EMC projects as well as Common Facility Centres (CFCs) through Project Implementing Agency such as State Government or their agency, Central Public Sector Units (CPSUs) / State Public Sector Units (SPSUs), Industrial Corridor Development Corporations (ICDCs) or Joint Venture of such agencies with Anchor unit(s) or industrial park developers.

Under EMC 2.0 scheme, 3 EMC applications covering an area of 1,337 acres have been approved with project cost of INR 1902.69 crore including financial assistance of INR 889.02 crore from Government of India. These EMCs are poised to attract an investment of about INR 20,910 crore and having potential to generate 51,520 employment opportunities after getting operational. An amount of INR 205.24 crore has been released for scheme execution.

Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (MSIPS): In order to promote large scale manufacturing in the country, MSIPS was announced by the Government in July 2012. It has been amended twice – in August, 2015 and in January, 2017, and mainly provide Capex subsidy of 20-25%. It has been closed on 31st December, 2018 to receive new applications.

In this scheme, 320 applications with proposed investment of INR 89,139 crore are under consideration. Out of these 320 applications, 315 applications with proposed investment of INR 86,849 crore and committed incentives of INR 9,566 crore have been approved.

Incentives amounting to INR 1917.09 crore have been disbursed. Out of 315 approved units, 271 units have reported invested of INR 33,506 crore and 242 units have started production. Direct and indirect employment generated so far is 3,45,571. Total sales (domestic and exports) from the units under production are INR 6,63,274 crore which include export of INR 1,06,740 crore.

Program for Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystem - To widen and deepen electronics manufacturing, the Union Cabinet on 15.12.2021, approved a comprehensive program with an outlay of INR 76,000 crore (> USD 10 billion) for the development of Semiconductors and Display manufacturing ecosystem.

With the approval of Cabinet, this Programme has been recently modified on 21.09.2022. The modified programme offers Fiscal Support of 50% of Project Cost uniformly for semiconductor fabs across the technology nodes as well as for compound semiconductors, packaging and other semiconductor facilities.

Modified Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India: It provides fiscal support for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country. Fiscal support of 50% of the Project Cost is available for setting up of silicon-based semiconductor fabs across all technology nodes.

Modified Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India for attracting large investments for manufacturing TFT LCD or AMOLED based display panels in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Scheme extends fiscal support of up to 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Display Fabs in India.

Modified Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab/ Discrete Semiconductor Fabs and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India: It provides a fiscal support of 50% of the Capital Expenditure to the eligible applicants for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab/ Discrete Semiconductor Fabs and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India.

Semicon India Future Design: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme: It offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for ICs, Chipsets, SoCs, Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design. The scheme provides both Product Design Linked Incentive and Deployment Linked Incentive .

In addition to the incentives offered under the Schemes highlighted above, Government has adopted various measures/steps to promote electronics manufacturing inter alia exports and ease of doing business in the country.

Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has undertaken a slew of proactive, preemptive and graded measures to spur the technology led startup-innovation ecosystem in the country and giving an impetus to the new and emerging technologies.

This proactive approach builds from established best practices designed to strengthen the overall tech startup development infrastructure by overcoming persistent bottlenecks to work grounds up seamlessly. Some of the major initiatives have been elucidated here:

TIDE 2.0 Scheme: Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) Scheme was initiated in the year 2019 to promote tech entrepreneurship through financial and technical support to incubators engaged in supporting ICT startups using emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, Block-chain, Robotics etc. The Scheme is being implemented through 51 incubators through a three tiered structure with an overarching objective to promote incubation activities at institutes of higher learning and premier R&D organisations. The scheme is expected to provide incubation support to approximately 2000 tech start-ups with an overall outlay of Rs. 264 Crore over a period of five years.

MeitY Start-up Hub (MSH): A nodal entity to interconnect deep tech startup infrastructure pan India a ‘MeitY Start-up Hub' (MSH) has been set up under MeitY. MSH is assisting incubators and startups improving their scalability, market outreach, etc. and has also established partnerships with various stakeholders paving the way for an economy built on innovation and technological advancement. MSH has seen a consolidation of over 3360 startups, 480 incubators, 424 mentors and 22 state of the art Centres of Excellence (CoEs), successfully conducted/ being conducted 143 challenges in different technology areas encouraging development of innovative products / services to address current and pressing challenges.

Domain specific Centres of Excellence: MeitY has envisaged and operationalised 26 Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in diverse areas of national interest for driving self-sufficiency and creating capabilities to capture new and emerging technology areas. These domain specific CoEs are act as enablers and aid in making India an innovation hub in emerging through democratisation of innovation and realisation of prototypes.

SAMRIDH Scheme: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched the ‘Start-up Accelerator Programme of MeitY for Product Innovation, Development and Growth (SAMRIDH)’ in August 2021 with an aim to support existing and upcoming Accelerators to further select and accelerate potential software product based start-ups to scale. The total cost of the scheme is Rs. 99 Crore for a duration of 3 years. A total of 300 startups are to be supported under the SAMRIDH Scheme.

Next Generation Incubation Scheme (NGIS): NGIS has been approved to support software product ecosystem and to address a significant portion of National Policy on Software Product (NPSP) 2019. The Scheme is proposed to be launched from 12 locations i.e. Agartala, Bhilai, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Dehradun, Guwahati, Jaipur, Lucknow & Prayagraj, Mohali/ Chandigarh, Patna & Vijaywada. The Scheme has solution-oriented architecture and aims to handhold 300 Tech Start-ups in Tier-2/3 cities over a period of 3 years with the total budget outlay of Rs. 95.03 Crores.

Support for International Patent Protection in E&IT (SIP-EIT) Scheme: Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) had initiated a scheme titled Support for International Patent Protection in E&IT (SIP-EIT) that encourages international patent filing by Indian MSMEs and start-ups so as to encourage innovation and recognize the value and capabilities of global IP. Reimbursement provided under the scheme is up to a maximum of Rs.15 lakhs per invention or 50% of the total expenses incurred in filing and processing of patent application up to grant whichever is lesser.

Research and Development in Electronics and I.T: R&D Groups are supporting technology developments in electronics and Information Technology for various applications. The outcome of these R&D Groups may contribute in Make in India programme also.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) are set up to enable hassle-free manufacturing and trading for export purposes and Electronic Hardware Technology Park (EHTP) units are the major contributors to exports.

Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP): The scheme for re-imbursement of currently un-refunded Central, State and Local Taxes and Duties incurred in the process of manufacture and distribution of exported products has been put into effect from 01.01.2021 through a Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) advisory. Major Components of such taxes is electricity duty and VAT on fuels used in transportation / distribution. The Scheme is being implemented by CBIC in an online environment.

Electronics Development Fund (EDF): Electronics Development Fund (EDF) has been set up as a Fund of Funds to participate in professionally managed Daughter Funds which in turn will provide risk capital to startups and companies developing new technologies in the area of electronics and Information Technology (IT). This fund is expected to foster R&D and innovation in these technology sectors.

100% FDI: As per extant Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, FDI up-to 100% under the automatic route is permitted for electronics manufacturing (except from countries sharing land border with India), subject to applicable laws / regulations; security and other conditions.

Phased Manufacturing Programme (PMP) has been notified to promote domestic value addition in mobile phones and their sub-assemblies / parts manufacturing. As a result, India has rapidly started attracting investments into this sector and significant manufacturing capacities have been set up in the country. The manufacturing of mobile phones has been steadily moving from Semi Knocked Down (SKD) to Completely Knocked Down (CKD) level, thereby progressively increasing the domestic value addition.

Tariff Structure has been rationalized to promote domestic manufacturing of electronic goods, including, inter-alia, Cellular mobile phones, Televisions, Electronic components, Set Top Boxes for TV, LED products and Medical electronics equipment.

Exemption from Basic Customs Duty on capital goods: Notified capital goods for manufacture of specified electronic goods are permitted for import at “NIL” Basic Customs Duty.

Simplified import of used plant and machinery: The import of used plant and machinery having a residual life of at least 5 years for use by the electronics manufacturing industry has been simplified through the amendment of Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, vide Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Notification dated 11.06.2018.

Relaxing the ageing restriction: The Department of Revenue vide Notification No.60/2018-Customs dated 11.09.2018 has amended the Notification No.158/95-Customs dated 14.11.1995, relaxing the ageing restriction from 3 years to 7 years for specified electronic goods manufactured in India and re-imported into India for repairs or reconditioning.

Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017: To encourage ‘Make in India’ and to promote manufacturing and production of goods and services in India with a view to enhancing income and employment, the Government has issued Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017 vide the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Order dated 15.06.2017 and subsequent revisions vide Orders dated 28.05.2018, 29.05.2019, 04.06.2020 and 16.09.2020.

In furtherance of the aforesaid Order, MeitY vide Notification dated 07.09.2020 has notified mechanism for calculating local content for 13 Electronic Products viz., (i) Desktop PCs, (ii) Thin Clients, (iii) Computer Monitors, (iv) Laptop PCs, (v) Tablet PCs, (vi) Dot Matrix Printers, (vii) Contact and Contactless Smart Cards, (viii) LED Products, (ix) Biometric Access Control / Authentication Devices, (x) Biometric Finger Print Sensors, (xi) Biometric Iris Sensors, (xii) Servers, and (xiii) Cellular Mobile Phones, for procurement to be made from locals suppliers.

Compulsory Registration Order (CRO): MeitY has notified “Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012” for mandatory compliance to ensure safety of Indian citizens by curbing import of substandard and unsafe electronic goods into India. 63 Product Categories have been notified under the CRO and the order is applicable on all product categories.

Launch of 5G Services in Oct 2022 by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 01.10.2022

Highest-ever auction revenue proceeds received from a single auction. 51,236 MHz (71% of the total) sold with bid amounting to Rs. 1,50,173 cr.

Indigenous 5G Test bed was dedicated to the nation by Hon. Prime Minister on May 17th 2022.

'Revival of BSNL and merger of BBNL with BSNL' approved with a financial package of Rs 1.64 lakhs cr.

Rural tele-density jumps from 44% in March 2014 to 58% in October 2022

Broadband connections rise to 816 million in September 2022 from 61 million in March 2014, growing by 1238%

FDI (equity flow) in the telecommunication sector during 2022-23 (April to September) was US$694 million compared to US$668 million during 2021.22.

Number of Mobile Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) are 23.98 lakh as on 09.12.2022. Number of mobile towers are 7.4 lakh as on 09.12.2022.

BHARAT NET: 1.90 lakh Gram Panchayats connected; 6,00,898 km Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) laid till 31 October 2022

PM-WANI scheme: Total hotspots are 114069 under PM-WANI as on 22.9.2022.

India jumps 6 ranks, from 67 in 2021 to 61 in 2022 in Network Readiness Index

The foundation for ushering 5G services in India was laid with the 8th Spectrum Auction, held in July 2022. Government of India had put 72,098 MHz spectrum to auction, of which 51,236 MHz (71% of the total) has been sold with bid amounting to Rs. 1,50,173 cr. This is the highest-ever auction revenue proceeds received from a single auction.

Further, in this auction highest number of bands i.e., 10 different bands across 22 LSAs (Licensed Service Areas) were simultaneously put to auction (i.e., 600 MHz, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz).

The telecom reforms and clear policy direction led to spectrum auction of 2022 garnering highest ever bids. The recent reforms like zero spectrum usage charges on spectrum acquired from 8th auction onwards, doing away with mandatory up-front payments, ability to surrender spectrum after a minimum threshold period (10 years), easy payment options like increased number of annual installments (20 annual installments), option for moratorium on past dues etc. has contributed to successful spectrum auction. Spectrum is very critical for telecom connectivity and with better availability of spectrum to Telecom Service providers, the quality of services is also expected to improve.

Launch of 5G Services - 5G services were launched in India by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 1st October 2022. 5G use cases developed by Telecom Service Providers and start-ups in Education, Health, Worker safety, Smart agriculture etc. are now being deployed across the country.

Indigenous 5G Test Bed - Keeping in view India’s specific requirements and to take lead in 5G deployment, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) approved financial grant for multi-institute collaborative project to set up ‘Indigenous 5G Test Bed’ in at five locations viz. Integrated Test Bed at CEWiT/IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur and IISc Bangalore.

The Indigenous 5G Test bed was dedicated to the nation by Hon. Prime Minister Shri, Narendra Modi on May 17th 2022.

Indian academia and industry can use the Indigenous 5G Test Bed to validate products, prototypes, algorithms, and services. As India becomes self-sufficient in 5G Technology, the development of this Indigenous Test Bed is a crucial step towards 5G Aatamnirbhar Bharat.

Increase in Telephone Subscription: Total telephone connections rose to 117.02 crore in October 2022 from 93.30 crore in March 2014, with a growth of 25.42 % in the said period. The number of mobile connections reached to 114.4 crore in October 2022. The tele-density which was 75.23% in March 2014 has reached 84.67% in October 2022.

Urban telephone connections rose to 64.99 crores in October 2022 from 55.52 crore in March 2014, a growth of 17.06% while the growth in rural telephone connections was 37.69%, which is double of urban increase, rising from 37.78 crore in March 2014 to 52.02 crores in October 2022. The rural tele-density jumped from 44% in March 2014 to 57.91% in October 2022.

Jump in Internet and broadband penetration: Internet connections jumped from 25.15 crore in March 2014 to 83.69 crore in June 2022, registering a growth of 232%. Broadband connections rose from 6.1 crore in March 2014 to 81.62 crores in September, 2022 growing by 1238%. Average revenue realization per subscriber per GB wireless data reduced to Rs. 10.29 in June, 2022 from Rs. 268.97 in December 2014, a reduction of more than 96.17%. Average monthly data consumption per wireless data subscriber increased by 266 times to 16.40 GB in June, 2022 from 61.66 MB in March 2014.

BTS and Towers: The number of Mobile Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) are 23.98 lakhs as on 09.12.2022. The number of mobile towers are 7.4 lakh as on 09.12.2022.

Increase in FDI: FDI (equity flow) in the telecommunication sector during 2022-23 (April to September) was US$694 million compared to US$668 million during 2021-22.

Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2022 - The Indian Telegraph Right of Way (Amendment) Rules, 2022 will facilitate faster and easier deployment of telegraph infrastructure for enabling speedy 5G roll-out. These amended rules, inter-alia, incorporate provisions for usage of street furniture for installation of small cells and telegraph line. Fees and charges for seeking RoW permissions by the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Infrastructure Providers (IP) have also been rationalized to bring uniformity across the country.

Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) Reforms - The Government has brought the following procedural reforms on Wireless Licensing: Delicensing of various frequency bands to promote innovation, manufacturing & export as under: Spectrum in 865-868 MHz band delicensed for facilitating IoT and M2M, RFID etc. applications., 9 KHz to 30 MHz band delicensed for contactless Inductive Charging etc, 433-434.79 MHz band delicensed for various Short-Range Devices (SRD) applications.

The Government has also released National Frequency Allocation Plan 2022 which will give guidance to the users of the spectrum to plan their networks in accordance with relevant frequency and parameters provided therein.

Satellite Reforms - To propel growth and to accelerate provisioning of affordable services to the citizens in the fast-emerging area of satellite-based services, reforms have been undertaken to help in Ease-of-Doing-Business by limiting multiplicity of charges at different stages of rolling out satellite-based communication services.

Till now, the satellite usage has been mostly limited to static-use. The Government has enhanced the scope of the commercial VSAT license to enable the provisioning of User terminal station(s) on moving platform(s). These terminals can be: Vehicle-mounted “fully mobile” or simply briefcase size portable “pause and move” type.

To simplify the existing processes, vital changes have been made for streamlining satellite-related clearance processes. This will considerably shrink the existing time taking process in spectrum assignment and associated clearance(s). Self-certification has been introduced in order to save time in operationalizing the networks.

Launch of “Gati Shakti Sanchar” Portal to Streamline the process of Right of Way (ROW) Applications and permissions Across the Country

Universal and equitable access to Broadband Services across the country, especially in the rural area is one of the most important visions of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. To fulfil this vision, it is imperative that backbone of infrastructure is created by facilitating smooth and efficient deployment of Digital Communications Infrastructure across the country. The “GatiShakti Sanchar” portal for Centralised Right of Way (RoW) approvals is now functional with all 36 States/UTs onboard and is also integrated with Min. of Railways, MoRTH and MoD-DGMO.

The portal acts as an enabler for “Ease of doing business” for telecommunications infrastructure works. The timely disposal of RoW applications of various services and Infrastructure providers shall enable speedy infrastructure creation especially for timely rollout of 5G Network also. The portal will enable applicants from various Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) as well as Infrastructure providers (IPs) to apply at a common single portal for Right of Way permissions to lay down Optical Fiber Cable and for erecting mobile towers. As it smoothens the process of RoW permissions as well as faster approvals; it will facilitate easy rollout of 5G services. For effective monitoring of RoW applications across the country, the portal even comes fitted with a potent dashboard showing State and District wise pendency status.

The Telecom assets are being mapped on PM GatiShakti NMP (National Master Plan) platform. So far ~ 10 Lakh RKm (Route Kilometer) of OFC laid by PSUs viz. BSNL, BBNL, RailTel, GAIL, PowerGrid has been mapped. About 20 lakh Telecom Towers of all Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have been mapped with details such as ‘fiberized’ and ‘non fiberized’.

The tool developed by BISAG on PM GatiShakti NMP calculates the required length and route of the nearest OFC to a particular unfiberized tower. This helps in: Fiberization of unfiberized towers i.e. for connecting the available nearest OFC with nearest unfiberized tower, PSUs having saleable OFC can easily showcase and sell their OFC, Companies who want to explore the option of buying available OFC to connect their unfiberized towers can do so without much effort.

Further, the street furniture (like electricity poles, bus shelters, traffic lights etc.) laid by State Governments are being progressively mapped. The DoT NMP platform is being integrated with State NMP platforms so that various assets of States like street furniture, government lands etc. are visible on the NMP DoT plateform. Various tools on the NMP platform have been developed which will make 5G rollout easier for the TSPs. For example:

Shortest Distance tool: This tool shows the distance of the nearest OFC from the point of interest which may be a non-fiberized mobile tower or a new site for a 5G cell/pole.

5G planning tool: This tool generates grids of customizable size in a city of interest.

By Overlapping the layer of street furniture & mobile towers, a TSP can see in which grid there is no asset for 5G pole installation and a new pole/infrastructure is required.

RoW(right of way) tool: Using this tool, a TSP can see which agencies like State local bodies falling under the route of OFC laying or mobile tower installation.

Service delivery in villages through BharatNet - Progress in 2022: The flagship BharatNet project is being implemented in a phased manner to provide broadband connectivity to all the Gram Panchayats (approx. 2.6 lakh GPs) in the country. The Phase-I has been completed in December 2017 covering over 1 lakh GPs. Under the project, as on 31.10.2022, 6,00,898 km Optical Fibre Cable has been laid, a total of 1,90,364 GPs have been connected by Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) and 1,77,665 GPs are Service Ready on OFC. In addition, 4466 GPs have been connected over satellite media. Total GPs service ready are 1,82,131.

Mobile Services in Uncovered Villages: Installation of mobile towers in LWE affected areas: On 20.08.2014 a project for provisioning of mobile services (2G based) in 2199 locations in LWE affected areas was approved. Subsequently in June 2016 the provision of mobile services for additional 156 sites were approved. Out of 2355 sites approved under LWE-I, 2343 sites are radiating. Upgradation of existing 2G sites to 4G has been approved. Under LWE-II, 224 mobile towers and associated infrastructure have been installed and commissioned covering 232 locations in the State Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

275 out of 354 Uncovered Villages covered with mobile services: In order to provide connectivity in villages in border areas of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Karnataka and West Bengal, the Government has accorded approval to connect 354 villages. Till October 2022, out of 354 uncovered villages, 275 have been provided coverage by installing 254 Mobile towers. Further additional order for covering ’55 uncovered villages’ under this scheme has been approved. Till October 2022, out of these 55 villages, 19 villages have been covered by installing 19 mobile towers and associated infrastructure.

4G based Mobile service in 502 uncovered villages under Aspirational District Scheme: The scheme has been planned for provisioning of 4G based Mobile Service in 502 uncovered villages of Aspirational districts of four states -Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh & Rajasthan. Till October 2022, 132 villages have been covered by installing 106 Mobile towers under this project.

The Government in November 2021 has further accorded approval to provide 4G Mobile service in 7287 uncovered villages of Aspirational Districts of 5 States namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha.

Saturation of 4G mobile services in uncovered villages across the country - Project for saturation of 4G mobile services in uncovered villages across the country has been approved. The project will provide 4G mobile services in 24,680 uncovered villages in remote and difficult areas. The project has a provision to include additional villages on account of rehabilitation, new-settlements, withdrawal of services by existing operators etc. In addition, 6,279 villages having only 2G/3G connectivity shall be upgraded to 4G. The project is being executed by BSNL using Atmanirbhar Bharat’s 4G technology stack and is funded through Universal Service Obligation Fund. It is targeted to compete the project by December 2023.

Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for the North-Eastern Region - The Government of India is implementing a Comprehensive Telecom Development Plan (CTDP) for the North-Eastern Region (NER). Under this scheme, Mobile connectivity on 2G is to be provided by setting up 2004 towers in the uncovered villages and along National Highways of Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh (National Highways only) of North-East region.

The project on Mobile Services in uncovered villages of Meghalaya and seamless coverage along National Highway was approved on 23.05.2018 and the work was awarded to telecom service provider for 1,164 uncovered villages and 11 sites along National Highways on 04.09.2020 for provisioning of 4G mobile services. The scope has been increased to cover 1,481 uncovered villages by installing 1094 towers. As of October, 2022, total 316 towers have been installed, covering 475 villages.

Another project for provision of 4G mobile services in 2,374 uncovered villages in Arunachal Pradesh and two Districts of Assam (Karbi Anglong & Dima Hasao) was approved. Survey has been completed. In Arunachal Pradesh, 19 towers have been commissioned covering 27 villages, while in Assam, 54 sites have been commissioned covering 67 villages.

For making available high quality and high speed internet access to the States of North Eastern Region of the country, Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) has signed an Agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) on 18.08.2021 for hiring of 10 Gbps International Bandwidth for Internet Connectivity to Agartala from Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL), Bangladesh. The first 10 Gbps link was commissioned on 26.11.2021 and the second 10 Gbps link was commissioned on 21.04.2022.

Agreement signed for setting up of 82 towers to provide mobile services on 4G Technology in identified 85 uncovered villages with population >=10 and 42 towers for providing 4G mobile services to bridge the gaps in mobile connectivity along uncovered National Highway. As on date, 105 tower sites [Village: 58, Highway: 47] have been approved as against 124 tower sites survey reports. Completion of the project - 14.05.2023.

Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Satellite Bandwidth Augmentation to 4 Gbps has been successfully implemented by BSNL on 09.09.2021.

Lakshadweep Islands: Satellite Bandwidth Augmentation to 1.71 Gbps has been successfully implemented on 14.08.2021.

Submarine OFC connectivity between Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands (1869 km)

As per cabinet approval dated 09.12.2020, Submarine Optical Fibre Cable Connectivity is to be provided between Kochi and Lakshadweep Islands (KLI Project) comprising of Kavarati and ten other Islands, namely, Kalpeni, Agatti, Amini, Androth, Minicoy, Bangaram, Bitra, Chetlat, Kiltan and Kadmat. The project is targeted to be implemented by May 2023 i.e. within 1000 days from the date of announcement by Hon’ble PM on 15th August 2020. Target of completion: May 2023.

Access points deployed under PM-WANI: The Government on 09.12.2020 approved the proposal to proliferate broadband through Public Wi-Fi Networks under the framework of Prime Minister’s Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI).

Under the PM-WANI framework, total number of hotspots have reached 114069 as on 22.9.22.

Design-Led Manufacturing Under Telecom PLI Scheme: On 17.02.2021 the “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Telecom & Networking Products” was approved with an outlay of Rs.12,195 crores for a period of five years. The scheme provides 4 -7% incentives on sales of specified products. The Scheme has been formulated based on Production Linked Incentive Scheme under Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for boosting domestic manufacturing and exports while attracting investments in the target segments of telecom and networking products in order to encourage Make in India .

Union Budget 2022-23 announced design led manufacturing for 5G products. It provided additional incentive of 1% over and above the existing incentives for products that are designed and manufactured in India. Accordingly, to facilitate design-led manufacturing of 5G products under PLI Scheme for telecom and networking products, the Department of Telecommunications has approved total 42 companies including 28MSMEs. Out of which 17 companies are approved for additional incentive of 1% under design-led manufacturing criteria. These 42 companies have committed investment of Rs.4,115 crores over scheme period. This is expected to generate additional sales of Rs.2.45 lakh crores of telecom and networking products and create additional employment of more than 44,000 over the scheme period.

Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Scheme: TTDF aims to fund R&D in rural-specific communication technology applications and form synergies among academia, start-ups, research institutes, and the industry to build and develop the telecom ecosystem. It also aims to promote technology ownership and indigenous manufacturing, create a culture of technology co-innovation, reduce imports, boost export opportunities and creation of Intellectual Property. It will help create the ecosystem for research, design, prototyping, use cases, pilots, and proof of concept testing, among others. The scheme entails grants to Indian entities to encourage and induct indigenous technologies tailor-made to meet domestic needs.

India jumped 6 ranks, from 67 in 2021 to 61 in 2022 in the NRI-2022. NRI score for India also improved from 49.74 in 2021 to 51.19 in 2022. The report was released on 15-11-2022.

Telecom Bill-New legal framework in Telecom Sector: The existing regulatory framework for the telecommunication sector is based on the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885. The nature of telecommunication, its usage and technologies have undergone a massive change since the era of telegraph .

We now live in the era of new technologies such as 4G and 5G, Internet of Things, Industry 4.0, M2M Communications, Mobile Edge Computing, etc. These technologies are creating newer opportunities for India’s socio-economic growth. Therefore, India needs a legal framework attuned to the realities of the 21st century.

The Ministry of Communications initiated a public consultative process to develop a modern and future-ready legal framework. In July 2022, a Consultation Paper on Need for a new legal framework governing Telecommunication in India was published and comments were invited.

Based on the consultations and deliberations, the Ministry of Communications has now prepared a draft Indian Telecommunication Bill, 2022 which has been put in public domain for further consultations. While preparing the draft, relevant legislations in Australia, the European Union, United Kingdom, Singapore, Japan and the United States of America have also been examined in detail.

The Bill aims to replace the existing legal framework governing telecommunication in India, comprising of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, the Wireless Telegraphy Act, 1933 and the Telegraph Wires (Unlawful Possession) Act, 1950.

Launch of Satellite Broadband Services: In areas where terrestrial connectivity is not available, satellite may be the only backhaul technology available. Satellite backhaul relies on satellite-based bandwidth providers to connect the most remote communities.

Depending on the exact type of technology used, satellite backhaul can be deployed quickly, without the need to build the costly and technically challenging infrastructure required for other backhaul technologies.

Leading VSAT operator(s) are effectively leveraging the advancements in satellite technology by utilising the indigenous High Throughput Satellites and would be offering services in the North-East, J&K and other areas. BBNL and BSNL are also using ISRO’s HTS satellites GSAT-11 and GSAT-19 under BharatNet project to provide connectivity to about 6700 GPs/areas which were not accessible through other mediums. Broadband services from LEO/MEO satellites is expected to be rolled out in near future raising the quality of broadband services in remote and mountainous regions.

Cyber Security through Telecom Security Operation Centre (TSOC): Department of Telecommunications has approved a scheme for the installation of Telecom Security Operation Centre (TSOC) with objective to predict and identify attacks on national telecommunications infrastructure. TSOC is used for identifying the cyber-attacks on telecommunications network and the machines which are initiating such attacks or under attack. TSOC is also used for identifying the presence of blocked application, malicious communications provided by some applications, etc. It is also the main source for providing inputs to Telecom Computer Security Incident Response Team (Telecom-CSIRT), a framework established by the Department of Telecommunications to protect the national telecom infrastructure.

Consumer Protection through the Telecom Analytics for Fraud management and Consumer Protection (TAF-COP) portal: Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has taken several measures to ensure proper allocation of telecom resources by Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) to subscribers and protect their interests in ensuring reduction of frauds. As per existing guidelines, individual mobile subscribers can register up to nine mobile connections in their name. TAFCOP has been developed to help subscribers, check the number of mobile connections working in their name, and take necessary action for regularizing their additional mobile connections if any. However, the primary responsibility of handling the Customer Acquisition Form (CAF) lies with the service providers.

The Government has been undertaking steps to promote broad based growth across a wide range of high potential services sectors including Information Technology/Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITES).

The ‘Action Plan for Champion Sectors in Services’ to give focused attention to 12 identified Champion Services Sectors, namely, Information Technology & Information Technology enabled Services, Tourism & Hospitality Services, Medical Value Travel, Transport &Logistics Services, Accounting and Finance Services, Audio Visual Services, Legal Services, Communication Services, Construction and Related Engineering Services, Environmental Services, Financial Services and Education Services has been approved to support sectoral initiatives of the Nodal Ministries/Departments identified for these sectors.

The Government had also launched Software Technology Park (STP) that is a 100% export-oriented scheme for the development and export of computer software using communication links or physical media and including export of professional services.

The unique feature of STP scheme is provisioning of Single-Point Contact Services for the member units enabling them to conduct export operation at a pace commensurate with international practices. The incentives provided under the STP Schemes are as follows:

Exemptions from payment of duty of customs/integrated tax and compensation cess on imported capital goods

Refund of GST on procurement of capital goods from DTA

Import of second-hand capital goods is also permissible

Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) sale permissible

Depreciation on computers at accelerated rates up to 100% over 5 years is permissible.

100% FDI investment permitted through automatic route

The Government of India’s objective is to take up digital opportunities in the smaller cities and towns across the country to create employment opportunities in Information Technology/ Information Technology Enabled Services (IT/ITES) Sector. Toward this objective, a total of 63 centres of STPI has been set up across the country out of which 55 centres are located in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

Government of India in collaboration with National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has also initiated a programme titled Future Skills PRIME (Programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability) aimed at re-skilling/ up-skilling of IT professionals from various cities including tier II and tier III in 10 new/emerging technologies namely Artificial Intelligence, Robotic Process Automation, Augmented/Virtual Reality, Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, Additive Manufacturing/ 3D Printing, Cloud Computing, Social & Mobile, Cyber Security and Blockchain.

STPI registered units in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh have contributed ₹ 775.82 Cr for the FY 2021-22 in IT/ ITeS exports.

Government is very focused on its important objective of building the overall semiconductor ecosystem and ensure that, it in-turn catalyses India’s rapidly expanding electronics manufacturing and innovation ecosystem.

Government has approved the Semicon India programme with a total outlay of INR 76,000 crore for the development of semiconductor and display manufacturing ecosystem in the country.

The programme has further been modified in view of the aggressive incentives offered by countries already having established semiconductor ecosystem and limited number of companies owning the advanced node technologies.

The modified programme aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem. This will serve to pave the way for India’s growing presence in the global electronics value chains.

Following schemes have been introduced under the aforesaid programme to provide financial support to new business unit or expansion of capacity / modernization and / or diversification of an existing unit in India:

Modified Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India for attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem and help establish a trusted value chain. The Scheme extends a fiscal support of 50% of the project cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Silicon CMOS based Semiconductor Fab in India.

Modified Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India for attracting large investments for manufacturing TFT LCD or AMOLED based display panels in the country to strengthen the electronics manufacturing ecosystem. Scheme extends fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Display Fabs in India.

Modified Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab / Discrete Semiconductors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India extends a fiscal support of 50% of the Capital Expenditure on Pari-passu basis for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab/ Discrete Semiconductor Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India.

Semicon India Future Design: Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design.

The scheme provides Product Design Linked Incentive of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of ₹15 Crore per application and “Deployment Linked Incentive” of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of ₹30 Crore per application.

In addition to the above schemes, Government has also approved modernisation of Semi-Conductor Laboratory, Mohali as a brownfield Fab.

Government is fully cognizant of the importance of R&D in semiconductors. Government has already established R&D and Incubator Centres in Semiconductors. Currently, following organisations are having facilities for R&D: Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) Mohali, Gallium Arsenide Enabling Technology Centre (GAETEC), Hyderabad and Society for Integrated Circuit Technology and Applied Research (SITAR), Bengaluru.

Additionally, Government has funded for Establishment of Gallium Nitride (GaN) Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator for High Power and High Frequency Electronics at IISc, Bengaluru.