IMC 2026: India targets 1 billion 5G users by 2030; data cost falls to ₹8 per GB, says Scindia

Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India has 550 million 5G users currently and is targeting 1 billion users by 2030, as the country looks to take its telecom and digital technology capabilities to global markets. Speaking at the 10th edition of India Mobile Congress (IMC) in New Delhi, Scindia said India’s broadband customer base has grown from 60 million in 2014 to more than 1.1 billion today. The country also has 1.35 billion mobile customers, he added.

“One GB of data would cost ₹268 in 2014. Today, 12 years later, one GB of data costs only ₹8, the cheapest data capability across the world,” Scindia said.

He added that average monthly data usage per customer has increased 140 times, from 0.26 MB in 2014 to 36 MB today. “Every drop in cost, every increase in usage has expanded that canvas in which every single Indian can connect, can create, and can innovate,” Scindia said.

Scindia said 5G, launched in 2022, has become the “fastest adopted 5G in the world”. “Today we have 550 million users on 5G,” he said. “By 2030, our target is to take that number from 550 million to a billion customers on 5G.” He said India’s digital journey was moving from “connecting the next billion” to “enabling the next billion possibilities”.

During the Covid pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 editions of IMC were held virtually, Scindia said. He added that mobile phones became a means for children to connect with schools, for people to access health services and for businesses to connect with markets.

India wants to lead in 6G, take technology global

Scindia said the demonstrations at IMC 2026 showcase India’s capabilities across satellite communications, life-saving cell broadcast, AI-native pre-6G networks, sovereign clouds, terahertz communication and integrated sensing and communication. He said India’s next phase of digital growth rests on four pillars — indigenous innovation, taking Indian innovations to the world, ensuring technology reaches citizens and enterprises, and building a secure and resilient digital ecosystem.

On 6G, Scindia said India was behind the world in 4G but had matched the global pace in 5G. “We were behind the world in 4G, we marched with the world on 5G, but it is our resolve that we will lead the world on 6G,” he said.

Scindia said the Bharat 6G Alliance has 90 institutions involved, with joint ventures with institutions across the globe. “It is our goal to be seated at the standard-setting table,” he said.

On UPI, Scindia said the platform accounts for 84% of digital transactions domestically and 49% of global digital transactions. “Our UPI platform today does 260 billion transactions per year totalling $3.4 trillion per year,” he said, adding that the technology has been taken to 11 other countries.

On connectivity, Scindia said the $15 billion government-funded BharatNet programme will provide middle-mile connectivity to nearly 260,000 gram panchayats and on-demand connectivity to another 380,000 villages. The programme will provide a 100 Mbps connection to homes, he added. On digital security, Scindia said Sanchar Saathi has “disconnected close to 7 crore phones which are fraudulent” and protected people and their savings worth “close to half a billion dollars”.

India’s mobile phone industry has grown from $2 billion in 2014 to $63 billion today, Scindia said. India is now the world’s second-largest mobile phone producer, with mobile phone exports close to $29 billion. The production-linked incentive scheme has resulted in ₹1.1 lakh crore of incremental sales and ₹25,000 crore of incremental exports in 22 months, he said.

Scindia also said India has entered the club of four countries that have produced telecom stacks. “India produced her first 4G telecom stack in 22 months,” he said, adding that there are now 100,000 towers across the country using the technology.

“Today’s scale without boundaries is the next chapter of India’s digital journey,” Scindia said. He added, “The first decade has brought the world to India, the next decade must take India to the world.”