5G Ecosystem to Improve in India Ahead of Budget 2022 Announcements: Industry Experts, Analysts

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On February 1, 2022, Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister of India, made the union budget announcements for the coming financial year. Focusing on the telecom sector and 5G, the finance minister said that the government would come up with a production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for the manufacturing of 5G equipment as well as confirmed the 5G rollouts for FY23 with the spectrum auctions slated for CY2022.

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Along with this, Sitharaman said that 5% of the annual collection from the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) would go towards helping with the proliferation of broadband in rural India.

Vishwakumara Kayargadde, Co-Founder and COO, Saankhya Labs, said the announcements from the finance minister would help with the rollout of 5G mobile services within FY23.

“We welcome the Finance Ministry’s intent to launch a design-led manufacturing scheme that will help build a strong ecosystem for 5G in the country. In addition to this, the government’s measures towards promoting a semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem will attract young talent and make the industry more efficient and competitive. This will further boost fabless companies such as ours and other MSMEs working in the deep tech space, helping them engage in product R&D and design,” said Kayargadde.

Kayargadde added that the government’s move to promote R&D and commercialisation of tech and solutions for enabling a faster broadband rollout in the rural areas of the country is laudable.

Edtech Players Will Appreciate the Government’s Efforts for Faster Digitisation of India

Mahalakshmi Satish, Director, Prodigy Education India, said rising internet penetration across their three cities and towns because of the boost to the country’s digital infra will be the necessary help in the direction of access and affordability that edtech requires.

TR Dua, Director General, Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), said more job opportunities would be created as the usage of telecom services and digital infrastructure boosts in the rural areas.