New Delhi: India is targeting 100 crore 5G subscribers by 2030, double the current base of around 50 crore, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Monday October 5, underlining the government’s push to expand high-speed connectivity while strengthening the country’s digital infrastructure and telecom capabilities.
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Speaking at the Kautilya Economic Enclave, Scindia said 5G services have reached 99.9% of India’s districts, covering around 86% of the population.
“It is our target that by 2030, we must have a billion customers from 500 million today on 5G,” he said.
India launched 5G services in October 2022 and installed five lakh base stations within 23 months, which Scindia described as the world’s fastest 5G rollout.
The minister linked telecom expansion with the growth of fintech and artificial intelligence, noting that India now accounts for nearly 49% of global real-time digital payment volumes.
The government is also targeting wider rural connectivity through the $16-billion BharatNet programme, which seeks to provide every gram panchayat with broadband connectivity of at least 100 Mbps.
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Scindia highlighted the government’s efforts to address digital fraud through Sanchar Saathi, while the AI-powered ASTR system has helped disconnect 88 lakh mobile connections suspected of being involved in fraudulent activities. He also cited the RBI’s mandate for financial institutions to adopt the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator to strengthen customer protection.
On telecom self-reliance, Scindia said India’s indigenous 4G stack has been deployed across one lakh towers, with development work progressing towards a domestic 5G stack.
“We have manufactured our own India 4G stack... with 1 lakh towers. We will be proceeding on 5G very soon,” he said.
The government’s 5G target thus comes alongside efforts to expand rural broadband, secure India’s rapidly growing digital ecosystem and build domestic telecom technology capabilities.
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