India’s 5G+ blueprint: How digital infra powers Viksit Bharat

The inaugural session of the Voice & Data 5G+ Conference, themed Digital Infrastructure for Viksit Bharat, opened at Pride Plaza, Aerocity, New Delhi, with a clear message: India’s digital future will be defined by the strength, trust and purpose of its infrastructure. The session was chaired by Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia Group, who set the context by underscoring the role of digital infrastructure in “empowering industries, strengthening public services and positioning the country as a global digital leader”.

Acknowledging policymakers, corporate leaders, innovators and industry bodies, Gupta described the conference as “your forum”, signalling a collaborative approach to shaping India’s telecom and digital ecosystem. He also recognised the role of sponsors, partners and associations that have supported the seventh edition of the conference, noting that their collective contribution “powers the future of India’s digital ambitions”.

Following the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony, the welcome address reflected on the shifts defining the past year. It highlighted artificial intelligence, infrastructure development and manufacturing as the three forces reshaping the industry. The address observed that AI is now “getting embedded into each and everything, whether infrastructure, networks, software”, while infrastructure development continues to transform the sector, and manufacturing is seeing renewed momentum.

From Telco to Techco: Infrastructure as Digital Highways

Setting the tone for deeper discussion, Akal Gupta, Partner and Head – Digital Trust and Cyber, KPMG India, framed digital infrastructure as the foundation of India’s transformation. “The future is built on infrastructure,” he said, describing telecom networks as the “digital gateways” and “digital highways” that have enabled inclusion at scale.

Reflecting on India’s journey, Gupta noted how technology has reached the grassroots, creating a narrative that stands out globally. He recounted an interaction with a visiting colleague who asked how much cash they should carry in India. “I opened my wallet in front of them and said, ' Look at what I'm carrying. And maybe that gives you an answer,” he said, pointing to the shift towards a digital-first economy.

Gupta traced the evolution of telecom from a world of minutes and seconds to one driven by data and customer-centric services. He explained that the industry is now witnessing a shift from telco to techco models, where organisations move beyond connectivity to deliver digital services. “Telecom organisations and the entire services are the digital gateways, but telecom on their own are going through a big shift as organisations,” he said.

He outlined three broad themes shaping this transition: infrastructure transformation, the rise of AI, and the growing importance of trust. According to Gupta, AI has moved rapidly from generative to agentic models, driving intelligent automation and pushing enterprises towards autonomy. “Possibly we have just scratched the surface at this moment,” he observed, adding that the real challenge lies in translating technology into meaningful business and societal outcomes.

AI, Scale and the Question of Trust

While emphasising AI’s potential, Gupta also cautioned against unchecked adoption. “As much as AI is giving a power, AI is also giving power to the threat actors,” he warned, describing technology as a “double-edged sword”. He stressed that responsible AI frameworks, transparency and accountability are no longer optional. “It’s not becoming a gold standard learning. It’s becoming a baseline today for adopting AI across organisations,” he said.

Trust, Gupta argued, will be the true currency of the digital economy. Drawing a parallel with physical wallets that now carry no cash, he remarked, “The real currency which is going to be there in this digital world is going to be trust.”

Telecom Policy, Spectrum and the Role of Government

Building on these themes, Lt Gen Dr SP Kochhar, Director General, COAI, offered a candid assessment of India’s telecom landscape. He asserted that India has arrived as a global telecom power. “India has arrived in the telecom space; nobody can ignore India,” he said, citing rapid network rollouts and high data consumption.

Kochhar identified three pillars behind this progress: consumers, private industry and government. However, he also highlighted policy and regulatory challenges, arguing that telecom must be viewed as a value-added horizontal service on which all other sectors depend. “There is nothing known as telecom anymore,” he said. “What exists today is ICT.”

He called for long-term, strategic spectrum planning and warned against treating telecom as a source of short-term revenue. “They are not looking at strengthening the foundation so that the other sectors can grow on telecom,” he cautioned. He also flagged operational issues ranging from airport and metro connectivity to cybercrime reporting mechanisms, stressing the need for practical, on-ground reforms.

Policy Priorities and Network-First Thinking

Ambika Khurana, Chief Regulatory and Corporate Affairs Officer, Vodafone Idea, reinforced the need for a network-first approach to building a truly digital economy. Referring to the sector’s contribution, she said that a significant part of economic growth now rides on digital infrastructure.

While acknowledging policy progress, Khurana pointed to persistent challenges around right of way, access to public infrastructure and power availability. She argued that uninterrupted power supply and rationalised tariffs remain critical gaps. She also highlighted satellite communications as a complementary technology that could extend connectivity further, provided there is regulatory clarity and effective collaboration.

Summing up the priorities, Khurana stressed the need for utility status for telecom, non-discriminatory access to infrastructure and a more transparent consultative process. “The only way we can make it happen is through collaboration,” she said.

Manufacturing, Technology Sovereignty and the 2047 Vision

Shifting the focus to manufacturing, Pankaj Mahindru, Chairman, ICEA, linked digital infrastructure directly to India’s long-term economic ambitions. He argued that India cannot become a USD 40 trillion economy by merely being a user of technology. “You cannot be a global economy by being users of technology,” he said.

Mahindru highlighted the growth of mobile phone manufacturing but pointed to gaps in semiconductors, displays and product design. He emphasised the importance of building indigenous brands and technologies, noting that digital infrastructure must include devices, not just networks. “What is in your hand is the greatest digital infrastructure,” he remarked.

Positioning India between the US and China, he described the next decade as crucial. “Build our designs, our semiconductor products, our brands,” he urged, calling this the foundation for the journey towards Viksit Bharat.

Networks, Affordability and Cyber Awareness

RAG Gandhi, President and Chief Regulatory Officer, Reliance Jio, reflected on how far Indian telecom has come, from kilobits per second to gigabit speeds. He supported calls for long-term spectrum planning and underlined the need to address device affordability alongside service affordability.

Challenging the narrative around the digital divide, Gandhi argued that connectivity coverage in India is among the highest globally. The real divide, he said, lies in device access, digital literacy and fixed-line connectivity. On cybersecurity, he drew an analogy with traffic rules. “We have built the highways… but we have not told the people the traffic rules,” he said, stressing consumer education as a critical defence against digital fraud.

AI-Native Networks and the Road Ahead

Concluding the session, Sandeep Saxena, Head – Technology and Solutions, Mobile Networks, Nokia India, outlined how networks must evolve to support AI-driven use cases. He spoke about the transition towards AI-powered devices, edge computing and real-time intelligence.

Saxena explained that future networks will need to support critical communications, immersive experiences and industrial automation with high reliability and security. He described the move towards AI-native networks that enable a fusion of the physical and digital worlds. “The networks will have to evolve to be efficient, to be intelligent,” he said, adding that networks will remain central to India’s digital journey.

As the inaugural session concluded, the overarching message was clear: digital infrastructure is not just about speed or coverage, but about trust, inclusion and purpose. With collaboration between government, industry and consumers, the vision of Viksit Bharat is being actively shaped, one network, one policy and one innovation at a time.