Shaping the digital future of India

The budget does well in ensuring that the telecom industry continues to play a pivotal role in driving growth across industries and boosting the digital economy

With a strong focus on digital as an enabler for growth across sectors, the Union Budget 2023 has outlined the path for India to emerge as a global digital economy. The budget called out the role of technology in almost all the major initiatives be it digital public infrastructure for agriculture, the use of technology for accelerating skilling at scale, growing e-courts or powering green growth and sustainable mobility. As the backbone of innovation and new technologies, the telecom industry will play a pivotal role in driving growth across different industries and will continue to deliver on the multiplier effect of connectivity on communities, and society at large.

A key highlight of this year’s Budget for the telecom sector is the intent to create 100 labs for developing applications using 5G services in engineering institutions. These applications will be across different sectors such as smart classrooms, precision farming, intelligent transport systems, and healthcare, resulting in opening up a range of business models and employment opportunities.

These labs are expected to drive the growth of enterprise use cases for 5G and benefit telecommunication companies which have recently rolled out their 5G services. The setup of these labs will not only foster innovation in critical sectors but also help meet the increasing demand for technical talent in the telecommunications industry.

With its potential to create new products, services, and revenue streams, 5G will play a disruptive role in the telecom industry and businesses across industries. The labs are expected to help the industry overcome the challenge of scalability of enterprise use cases and provide opportunities for private networks across India. There is also an urgent need to upskill the workforce in 5G and related digital technologies. According to a Telecom Sector Skill Council report, India will require over 22 million skilled workers by 2025. With the government’s push to establish 30 Skill India international centres, 100 premier labs, and new Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence, India is poised to meet domestic tech talent demand and prepare future-ready talent for global markets.

The push to establish 30 Skill India international centres and CoE for Artificial Intelligence will help India prepare future-ready talent for global markets.

To further promote the Make in India initiative, the government has provided relief in customs duty on the import of certain parts and inputs for mobile phone manufacturing. This decision is likely to provide a much-needed boost to the domestic manufacturing industry in today’s hyper-competitive smartphone market. The move is expected to make it easier for domestic manufacturers to source components at lower costs, which could help them in producing more affordable smartphones and will help widen the adoption of 5G across India.

Another important aspect of the Union Budget is the allocation of funds for the Digital India programme. With increased fund allocation, the programme will further bolster the adoption of digital services and improve digital infrastructure. This move is expected to drive the growth of the digital economy and improve the connectivity of rural areas, where internet penetration is still low. Broadly, this will help increase the demand for telecom services, particularly in rural areas.

In conclusion, the Union Budget 2023 is expected to positively impact India’s telecommunications and connectivity sector. The government’s initiatives to promote investment, improve connectivity, and increase the adoption of digital services are expected to drive the telecom sector’s growth and boost the digital economy.

By Saurabh Kumar Sahu

Saurabh is MD and Lead – Communications, Media and Technology with Accenture in India

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