Scindia Reviews Bharat 6G Mission, Unveils 5G Lab Books & Sets Roadmap for 6G Leadership

The high-level interaction showcased India’s accelerating momentum in next-generation communication technologies and highlighted the country’s commitment to shaping global standards rather than following them.

Union Minister for Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia chaired a key meeting of the Apex Council under the Bharat 6G Mission, reviewing the rapid progress of the Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) and outlining India’s next steps to emerge as a global 6G leader by 2030. The meeting was attended by Dr. Chandrasekhar Pemmasani, Minister of State for Communications; Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom); Prof. Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser; senior government officials; academicians; telecom operators; R&D innovators; and industry leaders.

The high-level interaction showcased India’s accelerating momentum in next-generation communication technologies and highlighted the country’s commitment to shaping global standards rather than following them.

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Government’s Vision: India Aiming for Global 6G Leadership

Shri Scindia reaffirmed the Government’s unwavering focus on 6G innovation, urging close coordination among the seven B6GA working groups and calling for:

• Regular inter-group collaboration

• End-to-end examination of the 6G value chain

• Decomposition of complex challenges into actionable tasks

• Measurable quarterly milestones

He emphasised that 6G must benefit every citizen, especially rural communities, aligning with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for inclusive digital growth.

The Minister noted that India is well positioned to generate globally competitive intellectual property, shape international standards, and lead the future of communication technologies.

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India’s Transition From Technology Implementer to Technology Creator

Minister of State Dr. Chandrasekhar Pemmasani commended the Alliance for publishing eight technical reports and whitepapers covering:

• Spectrum

• AI-native networks

• Green telecom

• RF sensing

• Emerging 6G applications

He said these developments reflect India’s historic shift toward becoming a technology creator with strong innovation credentials.

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Principal Scientific Adviser Calls for Secure and Future-Ready Tech Frameworks

Prof. Ajay Sood emphasised:

• A mission-mode approach with sharply defined deliverables

• Strong integration of cybersecurity in all AI and 6G efforts

• The rising significance of quantum communication, now a practical reality

• Need to explore convergence of quantum tech, next-gen communication systems and cyber-security architectures

He urged experts to chart how these technologies can jointly define India’s digital future.

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Key Institutional and Technological Timelines Reaffirmed

Secretary (Telecom) Dr. Neeraj Mittal outlined progress made since the last review, including:

• Refined 6G spectrum timelines

• India’s silicon and chipset roadmap

• Timelines for indigenous 6G base stations (BTS) and 6G SoCs by 2027–28

• Sustainability KPIs

• Strengthened global outreach and participation

He highlighted India’s influence in shaping the ITU IMT-2030 (6G) framework, including the inclusion of “Ubiquitous Connectivity” as a core pillar—reflecting India’s developmental priorities.

He also stressed the urgent need to accelerate:

• 6G testbeds

• IPR generation

• Device and semiconductor ecosystem development

• Research-to-standards-to-deployment integration

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₹1-Lakh-Crore RDI Fund to Power Frontier Technologies

The Government has approved a ₹1-lakh-crore Research, Development and Innovation (RDI) Fund under the Department of Science & Technology. Anchored within ANRF, the fund will boost frontier research in:

• AI-native networks

• Photonics and sensing

• Semiconductors

• Cybersecurity

• Satellite–terrestrial convergence

These areas are crucial for India’s leadership in 6G.

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Scindia Unveils 5G Lab Publications Showcasing National Innovation

To highlight achievements of India’s 5G innovation ecosystem, Shri Scindia released three key publications:

1. The 5G Use Case Lab: From Infrastructure to Innovation – Chronicles the evolution of 100 5G labs across higher-education institutions.

2. 5G Lab Book – Edition 1 – Technical guidance for researchers working on 5G Core, 5G NR and real-world use cases.

3. 5G Hackathon Book – Showcases winning prototypes in disaster management, healthcare, agriculture, automation and security.

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Awards for Top 5G Use Case Labs

Shri Scindia presented Gradation Awards to the top-performing labs in the “Excellent Category”:

• Punjab Engineering College – Innovations in agriculture, healthcare, security; strong startup ecosystem.

• Banasthali Vidyapith – Leadership in private 5G, MEC, AI, automation; showcased solutions at IMC.

• IIT Roorkee (AMRIT) – National benchmarks in deep-tech R&D—India’s first deployed RIS, AI-edge systems, patents and commercialization.

• Thapar University – Impactful solutions in transport safety, accessibility, V2X crash prevention, Braille-digital learning, drone detection.

These institutions were recognized for innovation, societal impact, research excellence, and industry collaboration.

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Bharat 6G Alliance Reports Rapid Expansion and Global Engagement

The B6GA informed the Council that membership has grown from 16 founding members to over 84 organisations, including:

• Startups

• Telecom operators

• R&D agencies

• Leading academic institutions

• Industry majors

The Alliance shared updates on:

• International collaborations

• Joint research with global 6G alliances

• Technology development across its seven Working Groups

This reflects India’s unified national effort toward 6G innovation.

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Expert Feedback to Guide Next-Phase Strategies

Members of the Apex Council and Working Groups provided key suggestions to refine:

• Standards

• Testbeds

• Device and semiconductor ecosystems

• Deployment strategies

• International outreach

This feedback will shape the next phase of India’s upgraded 6G roadmap.

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India Marching Toward 6G Leadership

The meeting highlighted India’s clear and confident trajectory toward becoming a global hub of advanced telecom innovation, backed by strong industry–academia partnerships, disruptive research, and decisive policy support.