Latest news with #NeerajMittal
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
India aiming to contribute 10% of global 6G patents: Scindia
Kanpur/Bengaluru: Union minister of communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday said that the govt aims to foster next-generation communication technologies, such as 6G, by establishing robust policy frameworks, boosting research funding, and allocating spectrum in a timely manner to facilitate innovation and testing. Reviewing the progress of Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) along with Neeraj Mittal, secretary, telecom, the minister said that the Bharat 6G alliance should create a focused, strategic and clear roadmap for driving the innovation in 6G technology. "Guided by Prime Minister Narendra Modiji's vision, I highlighted how India is not just advancing with indigenous 4G/5G stacks but also aiming to contribute 10% of global 6G patents, placing the nation at the forefront of telecom innovation," Scindia later posted on X. The event included comprehensive presentations from working group chairpersons, outlining actionable plans and key technological advancements. Among them was Prof Rohit Budhiraja, vice chair of B6GA and professor in the department of electrical engineering at IIT-Kanpur, who delivered a presentation titled "Global 6G Standardisation". He shared India's growing contributions to international standard-setting bodies such as 3GPP and ITU, and emphasized the importance of aligning national efforts with global benchmarks. Drawing from India's active participation in global standard-setting forums such as the 3GPP workshop in Korea and the TSG RAN meeting in Prague, Prof Budhiraja outlined how India is shaping discussions on critical 6G design goals including ubiquitous coverage, AI integration, security, and energy efficiency. He emphasized that 6G must inherently support both terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, and presented frameworks for integrating AI-as-a-Service and post-quantum cryptography into 6G networks. He said, "Artificial Intelligence and 6G share a symbiotic relationship. While AI will make 6G networks more secure, efficient, and adaptive, from threat detection to energy optimization, 6G will, in turn, serve as a foundational platform to scale AI applications through AI-as-a-Service, seamless data handling, and intelligent connectivity. At IIT-Kanpur, our work is actively shaping this intersection, building on insights from 5G Advanced and pushing the frontiers for what 6G can enable. " The government of India unveiled the Bharat 6G Vision Document in March 2023, laying the strategic foundation for India's leadership in the sixth generation (6G) of wireless systems. To operationalize this vision, the Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) was established as a multi-stakeholder platform, uniting academia, industry, startups, and public institutions. The Bharat 6G Alliance is a collaborative initiative, designed to create a comprehensive and future-ready 6G ecosystem in India. Its focus on R&D, innovation, and standardization is central to the national mission of making India a global leader in 6G.
New Indian Express
2 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia reviews Bharat 6G Alliance progress
BENGALURU: The progress of Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) was reviewed by the Union Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya M Scindia here on Thursday along with Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, Telecom. During the interaction, the Alliance presented detailed updates on India's progress toward becoming a global leader in 6G by 2030. Chairpersons, Vice-Chairpersons, and members of the Alliance's working groups shared comprehensive updates on strategic updates, initiatives, and action plans. The presentations highlighted significant advancements in areas such as Indigenous Radio Access Network (RAN) technology, intelligent and inclusive networks for rural connectivity, and cross-sectoral 6G applications in domains like agriculture, healthcare, and smart and sustainable deployment. The Alliance has now expanded to a robust network of 80 member organisations, including over 30 startups, reflecting the growing national momentum for indigenous 6G innovation. The event served as a key platform for the Bharat 6G Alliance to present and interact with more than 100 telecom leaders and stakeholders about the progress made since the last review held in September 2024, along with innovations and collaborative efforts aimed at establishing India's leadership in 6G technologies. Scindia stressed the government's steadfast commitment to nurturing next-generation communication technologies. He said that the government is fully committed to enabling this transition through robust policy frameworks, increased research funding. He also said that the Bharat 6G alliance should create a focused and clear roadmap for driving the innovation in 6G technology and stressed the need for regular review of the progress at each work group's level to achieve our ambitious target to achieve 10% Intellectual Property Rights in 6G technology globally.
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Business Standard
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
Telcos raise concern over Digital Bharat Nidhi fund diversion to R&D
India's telecom operators have raised objection to the government's move to divert a portion of the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) towards research and development (R&D) activities, arguing that it deviates from the fund's original mandate and lack of transparency in allocation. In a letter addressed to Telecom Secretary Neeraj Mittal, as seen by The Economic Times, operators flagged concerns over using DBN resources, which are funded primarily through levies on telecom and internet service providers, for R&D initiatives undertaken by public sector entities and academic institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). What is the Digital Bharat Nidhi? The Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN), formerly known as the Universal Service Obligation Fund, is a government-administered pool aimed at financing telecom infrastructure in underserved rural and remote areas. The fund is maintained through a 5 per cent levy on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) from telecom and internet service providers (ISPs). As of December 2023, the DBN corpus stood at ₹86,356 crore. OTT disproportionately gain from R&D: Telcos Telecom operators have raised concerns over the government's move to allocate 5 per cent of the DBN corpus to research and development (R&D). The argument of the telecom companies is that the contributor base remains limited to telcos and ISPs, while over-the-top (OTT) platforms, key beneficiaries of broadband expansion, are excluded from making contributions. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), representing the major telecom players, argued that while R&D is valuable, it falls outside the scope of DBN's original objectives. They highlighted that private telecom firms are being required to support activities that do not necessarily yield direct benefits to them. Telecom cos criticise lack of transparency Operators also criticised the non-transparent allocation process, pointing out that most of the DBN's R&D funds have gone to a handful of institutions like the IITs without open or competitive bidding. They stressed that these premier institutions make up a small fraction of India's engineering education ecosystem and already receive significant public funding, reportedly around ₹8,000 crore in FY22. In their letter, telcos urged the government to ensure equitable access to R&D funding across a broader range of qualified institutions, rather than focusing funding on a select few. They also demanded that intellectual property generated through DBN-funded research be shared transparently with contributing telecom firms and not retained as proprietary assets by the research bodies. They also called for the selection of implementing agencies to be governed strictly under the DBN Rules, 2024, and insisted on industry representation in the decision-making process.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Telcos raise concerns over Digital Bharat Nidhi use
New Delhi: Telecom operators have opposed the use of Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) funds for research and development (R&D) purposes, particularly by public sector units and select institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology ( IITs ), saying the move goes against the reasons why the corpus was created in the first place. In a letter to telecom secretary Neeraj Mittal, telcos stressed that the foundational purpose of DBN, earlier called Universal Service Obligation Fund , was to support deployment of telecom networks in uncovered rural and remote areas. It was meant to relieve telcos and internet service providers (ISPs) of their individual obligations to roll out services in unviable regions. To make it happen, telcos and ISPs contribute 5% of their adjusted gross revenue to the DBN. As of December last year, the DBN had a fund balance of ₹86,356 crore. Now 5% of DBN is earmarked for R&D but the contributors remain the same and over the top (OTT) platforms, which are major beneficiaries of broadband proliferation, don't have to contribute. The telcos, through Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), wrote to the government that while R&D was strategically important, it traditionally fell within the domain of academic and research institutions and did not directly align with the DBN's foundational purpose. "As a result, TSPs/ISPs are compelled to contribute significantly towards activities that may not offer them any direct or tangible benefit," the COAI said in the letter. Live Events The telcos further stressed that allocation of funds to public sector units on nominating terms effectively results in cross-subsidy from private players to them. Besides, the majority of DBN allocations for R&D have been directed to a few institutions like IITs, without a transparent selection mechanism like open bidding or competitive bidding. "While IITs are esteemed institutions, they represent less than 0.4% of the engineering colleges in India. Moreover, institutions such as the IITs already receive substantial government funding, approximately ₹8,000 crore annually, as of FY22," the letter said. The telcos want that DBN allocations should be done in a manner to ensure equal allocation to all the technical, R&D and engineering institutions which are equally worthy, and are capable of good quality research and development work. Further, the intellectual property rights and products developed using DBN-funded R&D must be made accessible to contributing telcos and ISPs in a transparent manner. "These outputs should not be treated as private assets by the R&D institutions or individual researchers," the letter said. It added that the selection of implementing agencies for R&D funding must adhere to the process as per the DBN Rules, 2024 and telcos, who are the major contributors towards the fund, should be involved in the selection process.
Economic Times
01-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
India needs more telecom unicorns, says DoT secretary Neeraj Mittal
ETTelecom Neeraj Mittal, Secretary, DoT With the Union Cabinet approving the ₹1 lakh crore research, development, and innovation (RDI) scheme, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is hopeful that it will provide a much-needed boost to telecom startups in the Mittal, secretary, DoT, told ET on the sidelines of an event in Bengaluru on Tuesday that the department looks forward to working closely with the scheme and startups. The scheme aims to scale up research, development, and innovation in sunrise domains and sectors critical to economic security, strategic interests, and self-reliance. 'Deep tech is essential for the country's growth. The only difference between deep tech and tech is that you need patient capital, and telecom would fall in that category for various reasons,' Mittal said. During his address at the Matrix Global Summit 2025 on 6G technology, the DoT Secretary also noted that while telecom may not be an easy space to innovate in, the government is attempting to reduce the risk through the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), particularly in the early stages. He added that India needs several unicorns in the telecom space. With the department targeting at least 10% of global patents in 6G technology ahead of the World Radiocommunication Conference in 2027, Mittal said, 'There are more expectations from institutions that patents will come from them, from research faculties, IITs, NITs, and all these institutions which are participating. We have a call for proposals on 6G, and we hope that it will result in a lot of papers.' During a similar discussion, Reliance Jio's senior vice president, Satish Jamadagni, underscored that despite building a homegrown 5G stack, true export viability hinges on domestic chip production. Simply having a cost advantage will not 'help in selling,' he said. 'When we missed the 4G bandwagon and jumped straight to 5G, the projected technology isn't yet at its best. When we talk about exporting a 5G stack, if you don't make the chip in the country, it's not really selling,' he added. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Inside TechM CEO's 'baptism by fire' and the blaze he still needs to douse Why the RBI's stability report must go beyond rituals and routines How the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 exposed India's maritime blind spots Profits plenty, prices attractive, still PSU stocks languish. Why? The bike taxi dreams of Rapido, Uber, and Ola just got a jolt. But they're winning public favour Stock Radar: Indus Tower stock breaks out from Symmetrical Triangle pattern; could hit fresh 52-week high – check target & stop loss Weekly Top Picks: These stocks scored 10 on 10 on Stock Reports Plus Will worst of perception be over in Q1 earning season? 9 IT stocks, probably best contrarian bets. Use a different way to be contrarian Stock picks of the week: 5 stocks with consistent score improvement and return potential of more than 25% in 1 year
