DoT’s AI-Powered Digital Twin Initiative Paves the Way for Data-Driven Infrastructure Planning

The DoT’s Digital Twin Initiative represents more than a technological breakthrough — it marks a strategic shift in India’s planning philosophy.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) made a landmark showcase at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025 with its Digital Twin with AI-Driven Insights Initiative, an ambitious effort that merges telecom data, computation, and sensing technologies to revolutionize how India plans and manages its public infrastructure. The initiative aims to empower planners to “see clearly, know the present, simulate the future, and shape outcomes” — fostering an ecosystem where decisions are informed, risks are minimized, and implementation is smarter.

A Vision for Smarter Planning

At the heart of the Digital Twin Initiative lies the belief that real-time, data-driven insights can redefine infrastructure development. By leveraging telecom-derived data, the system enables continuous simulation of real-world environments, allowing planners to evaluate the feasibility, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability of projects before execution.

The exhibit attracted major attention from policymakers, planners, AI experts, and industry leaders. The initiative was developed collaboratively with prominent telecom operators and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), including Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (RJIL), Bharti Airtel, and Nokia.

Key Demonstrations: Data in Action

The DoT’s Digital Twin exhibit presented three compelling use cases that highlighted the power of telecom data in real-world applications:

1. Urban Mobility Insights from Telecom Data

Using telecom mobility data, the system generated high-resolution origination–destination (OD) matrices to aid transport planning. Demonstrations from corridors such as Vasant Kunj and Central Vista in New Delhi revealed authentic travel patterns and dwelling hotspots. These insights can significantly aid agencies like DMRC and MoHUA in planning metro routes, assessing station catchments, and designing infrastructure with improved efficiency and precision.

2. Tourism Insights from Mobility Data

The tourism-focused Digital Twin of Ayodhya provided hourly and daily analytics of tourist movement, modes of travel, and lodging preferences. By mapping these behavioral patterns, planners can better understand tourism flows, improve site connectivity, and enhance visitor experiences — especially for large religious and cultural events.

3. Connected Traffic and Green Corridor Coordination

Developed in collaboration with a telecom OEM partner, this system illustrated how edge computing and computer vision can enable real-time traffic management. The demonstration showed how a “green corridor” could be dynamically created for emergency or special vehicles, optimizing traffic flow without disrupting general mobility — a potential game-changer for urban and disaster management authorities.

Together, these use cases reflect the broader vision of the Sangam Digital Twin Initiative — using AI and telecom data to transform governance and public service delivery.

Leadership and Expert Panel Discussion

During the IMC event, Shri Tarun Kapoor, Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary (Telecom), interacted with the DoT team to explore the live Digital Twin demonstrations.

A high-level Roundtable on “Planning That Thinks Ahead” was also convened to deliberate on the economics of data-driven clarity in infrastructure planning. Chaired by Shri R. N. Palai, Member (Technology), Digital Communications Commission, and moderated by Shri Sunil Bajpai (former Principal Advisor, TRAI), the discussion featured leading voices from government, academia, and industry — including Dr. Simone Redana (Nokia, Germany), Dr. Jaijit Bhattacharya (C-DEP), Dr. Amit Kumar Jain (DMRC), Mr. Rahul Joshi (RJIL), Mr. Sagar Mathur (Bharti Airtel), and Mr. Asit Kadayan (DoT).

Core Takeaways from the Roundtable

Panelists agreed that India already possesses the necessary data and technologies — what’s required is a systematic framework to deploy them effectively. Three major priorities were highlighted:

• Incentivisation: Establishing mechanisms to reward entities that provide high-quality, timely, and impactful data for public use.

• Policy Certainty: Integrating telecom-based mobility insights and digital twins into official planning toolkits such as the Comprehensive Mobility Plan Toolkit.

• Innovation Enablement: Launching cross-sectoral pilots to demonstrate the proof-of-value of telecom-enabled AI and Digital Twin applications.

Institutionalizing the Digital Twin Practice

Under the Sangam Initiative, the DoT is building a Regulatory-cum-Innovation Sandbox to support collaborative AI model development, data framework standardization, and privacy-preserving analytics. This initiative aims to foster an interoperable and secure environment where public and private stakeholders can co-develop planning intelligence tools.

A landmark collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has already been established through an Inter-Ministerial Joint Working Group (JWG), which is exploring how telecom mobility data can enhance urban mobility planning. Partnerships with institutions such as IISc Bengaluru, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, DMRC, and CUMTA Chennai are furthering research and pilot implementation of Digital Twin applications in the transport and infrastructure sectors.

Toward a Data-Driven Future

The DoT’s Digital Twin Initiative represents more than a technological breakthrough — it marks a strategic shift in India’s planning philosophy. By turning existing telecom data into actionable intelligence, the government aims to move toward evidence-based, agile, and citizen-centric infrastructure planning.

As India aspires to become a trillion-dollar digital economy, initiatives like Sangam’s Digital Twin are setting the foundation for transparent, efficient, and adaptive development. With the IMC 2025 showcase, the DoT has not only introduced a transformative technology but also a visionary framework for how India can “plan that thinks ahead.”