New Delhi: Union Minister for Communications and Development Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the world is seeing a tremendous amount of turbulence – social, economical — and in this environment of extreme air currents, “we are seeing a beacon of hope, stability from the southern part of the globe — India”.
He was speaking at the 51st National Management Convention on the theme “India’s Ascent: Navigating Global Uncertainty” in New Delhi, on Wednesday.
Scindia said that India is no longer an embodiment of a struggling economy. “It is a country that is promoting a value of sustainable economic growth, digital development, climate action and Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. It is a country poised to lead.”
“India today is the second largest producer of mobile phones in the world. We have tripled the number of kilometres that we build of highways per day from 11 to 33 kilometres. In my past portfolio, going from 74 airports in India in 2014 to 159 airports at the last count in 2024,” he pointed out.
“Delhi today has the second largest capacity airport in the world at 109 million. We need to move the international business hubs for air traffic from our eastern and western neighbours back into India. I am confident that in the next decade, you will see not one international hub in India, but at least three international hubs being created in India.”
Highlighting India’s efforts to reduce poverty, he said, “We have raised 25 crore of our people from poverty.” He pointed out that under the Ayushman Kaur Yojana, 28 and a half crore people currently have health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh per annum. As many as 10 crore women have been covered under Ujjwala Yojana, he said, underlining that all this has not happened in 75 years but in the last one decade of India’s progress. “Government today has to be become less of a regulator and more of a facilitator.”
Talking about the transformation in communication industry, he also pointed to the number of kilometres of optical fiber cable that have been laid out, 30 lakh kilometers of OFC fiber cable have been laid out in the last decade alone. “We have grown to 119 crore mobile subscribers.”
He added that internet connectivity has been growing from 25 crore to 94 crore. The cost of voice has dropped from 50 paise to 3 paise per minute today. The cost of data per GB has dropped from 280 rupees to 12.8 rupees today, a 95 per cent drop in cost. “That is the transformation that India has undergone,” he said.
Talking about digital revolution, he pointed out that India transacts 46 per cent of the world’s digital transactions today. “India should set the standards for the world in the days to come.”
