The India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024 was officially opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, coinciding with the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) 2024. During this year’s annual digital technology event, the Prime Minister spotlighted significant achievements in mobile connectivity, broadband adoption, and the expansion of optical fibre networks. Throughout the week, leading telecom operators such as Reliance Jio and Airtel, along with technology giants including Xiaomi and Qualcomm, will participate in the congress.
Speaking at the launch of the 8th edition of IMC, PM Modi noted that India now boasts 1.2 billion mobile subscribers and over 950 million internet users. He pointed out that the nation accounts for more than 40 percent of global real-time digital transactions.
Additionally, the Prime Minister emphasized the surge in smartphone manufacturing within the country. He acknowledged investments in semiconductor technology and initiatives aimed at producing fully ‘Made-in-India’ devices, including core components like processors.
In related developments, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Mittal unveiled Airtel’s new anti-spam technology designed to block fraudulent calls and messages, enhancing user security. “We are collaborating with the industry and the Department of Telecom to ensure our users remain safe and secure while utilizing our networks and services,” Mittal said.
Kumar Mangalam Birla, promoter of Vodafone Idea (Vi), announced on the same day that the telecom operator’s capital expenditure cycle had begun with its recent follow-on public offer (FPO), which garnered bids totaling Rs. 90,000 crore. This influx of capital will enable Vi to finalize new capex agreements with Ericsson, Nokia, and Samsung.
“At Vi, we aim to assist MSMEs in breaking down barriers and tapping into new markets via 5G, IoT, AI, and cloud technologies. Through our Vi Business ReadyForNext program, we have equipped over 1.6 lakh MSMEs for the future. As we transition to a world where virtual and augmented reality becomes commonplace, we are committed to supporting small businesses in driving India’s digital advancement,” Birla stated.
Meanwhile, Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio, advocated for data localization during IMC 2024. “The scale and speed of multilingual data generation in India are poised to significantly accelerate the AI revolution. We urge the government to swiftly revise the 2020 draft of the Data Centre Policy to ensure that Indian data remains within India’s borders,” he commented.
At the event, Jio also launched two new 4G-enabled feature phones, the JioBharat V3 and JioBharat V4. These models are introduced a year after the original JioBharat V3 and offer users internet access along with Jio’s digital services, including JioPay and JioCinema.
