Telecom infrastructure anchors India’s AI ambitions, says MoS

Dr Pemmasani Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, stated that telecom infrastructure forms the foundation of India’s artificial intelligence ecosystem. Addressing a session on telecom and AI at the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, he said that connectivity is central to digital inclusion and national capability.

In his keynote address, Dr Pemmasani outlined the growth of India’s telecom sector over the past decade. He noted that broadband subscribers have increased from 6 crore in 2014 to 100 crore in 2025, while average monthly mobile data consumption has risen to more than 24 GB per user. Fibre deployment has crossed 42 lakh route kilometres, and India has undertaken a rapid rollout of 5G services. He added that last-mile connectivity initiatives such as BharatNet are intended to extend AI-enabled services to rural and remote regions.

The Minister stated that the sector is now moving from expanding connectivity to strengthening capability. This includes investment in high-capacity fibre backhaul, edge computing to support low-latency applications, expansion of cloud infrastructure, and improving affordability to support innovation in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. He observed that AI adoption is increasing across sectors, with a growing number of enterprises deploying AI applications in operational environments.

On security and trust, Dr Pemmasani referred to strengthened telecom security frameworks and the use of AI-based tools. These include the Digital Intelligence Platform, which connects more than 1,200 institutions; the ASTR system, which has identified and disconnected over 86 lakh fraudulent SIM cards; and the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator, which has helped prevent fraudulent transactions amounting to more than Rs1,400 crore. He noted that AI-driven systems are being used to detect spam and mitigate fraud.

Commenting on India’s global position, the Minister said that India is among the leading AI ecosystems and is the world’s second-largest telecom market. He also referred to allocations under the IndiaAI Mission and investments in semiconductor manufacturing as part of efforts to strengthen domestic digital capabilities.

Concluding his address, Dr Pemmasani stated that telecom now underpins a broad range of digital services and economic activity, and reaffirmed the government’s focus on building inclusive, secure and AI-enabled digital infrastructure.

The session was organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in collaboration with the Software Technology Parks of India and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).