Indian telecom sector’s exports grew 35% in 2023: TCS COO

The Indian telecom sector’s exports, including products and services, surged 35% in 2023, said a senior executive of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Monday.

“Our exports from the telecom sector, including its products and services, have grown by 35% in 2023. Bharat as a nation has attracted $8 billion of foreign direct investment in this particular sector. Domestic research and development and manufacturing of products and solutions has very steadily increased in the last few years,” said N. G. Subramaniam, Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Executive Director, of TCS.

He was speaking at an industry event organised by the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

Subramaniam, who is also the Chairman of the Delhi-based TEPC, said that the contribution of companies that are engaged in research and development, as well as, manufacturing of telecom products and services has been steadily increasing along with the number of telecom patents being filed from the country.

“All these have been possible because the government of India has, what I call the ‘lean forward strategy’, and the recognition that telecom is the backbone on which the digital economy of the country will flourish,” he added.

Taking note of the Bharat 6G Vision Document, he said that it envisages that the country should account for 30% of overall contributions to the development of sixth-generation or 6G standards, and at least about 10% of patents filed for 6G technology should come from India.

“The necessary infrastructure, processes, and enablers have already been put in place in the form of Bharat 6G Alliance. The Alliance is working very closely with TSDSI (Telecommunications Standards Development Society, India), TEC (Telecommunication Engineering Centre), and other bodies, industry as well as academia. I’m confident that our leadership aspiration for 6G technology will become a reality soon,” he said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had last year launched the Bharat 6G Alliance which is a collaborative platform consisting of public and private companies, academia, research institutions, and Standards development organizations. The Alliance has been tasked with forging coalitions and synergies with other 6G global alliances to drive international collaboration and knowledge exchange.