Govt earmarks Rs 10,000-crore for telecom infrastructure

The government has made a Rs10,000 crore allocation for telecom infrastructure in fiscal 2019 and has also proposed to set up 5 lakh wi-fi hotspots to provide broadband access to 5 crore rural citizens.

''I have provided Rs10,000 crore in 2018-19 for creation and augmentation of telecom infrastructure,'' finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech.

''The task of connecting one lakh gram panchayat through high speed optical fibre network has been completed under phase I of the Bharatnet project. This has enabled broadband access to over 20 crore rural Indians in about 2,50,000 villages,'' he added.

The government will work towards connecting 150,000 more villages under BharatNet initiative, he said.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will support setting up of an indigenous 5G test bed at IIT, Chennai, to harness emerging technologies, particularly Fifth Generation (5G) technologies.

"We applaud the government's vision and commitment towards Digital India and the Digital economy. The finance minister has recognised the importance of a resilient cyberspace and doubled the allocation for Centres of Excellence across the country to be championed by the DST. We, are also enthused to see that Niti Aayog, will now be spearheading a national program to direct efforts in Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Blockchain, Robotics, and Digital as a way of life,'' Cellular Operators' Association of India Director General Rajan S. Mathews said.

''However, we reiterate that the telecom industry is deeply disappointed that none of our key asks have found mention in the budget. We had sought a reduction in levies and taxes, and an urgent intervention is critical for resuscitating the sector, which is currently experiencing its worst financial health and hyper competition,'' he added.

The government has doubled the allocation for Digital India programme to Rs 3,073 crore in 2018-19. It will also launch a mission to support establishment of Centres of Excellence.

''Combining cyber and physical systems have great potential to transform not only innovation ecosystem but also our economies and the way we live,'' Jaitley said.

''Digital technologies can bring in efficiency and economic scaling up in the critical social sectors. Budget 2018 gives recognition to the emerging sectors like Edutech, Agritech, Healthtech in India and is an encouragement for Digital India,'' Subho Ray, President, Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) said.

He further added that ''372 basic business reform actions identified for improving ease of doing business in India is a positive step.''