IMC 2020: PM Modi gives virtual address, Jio to help 5G revolution in second half of 2021, says Ambani

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses nation after all-party meeting. (Photo: ANI)

India is emerging as the preferred mobile manufacturing base, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his inaugural speech at the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020. The Prime Minister also stressed that India, which has the lowest mobile tariff in the world, is also the fastest growing app market. He also reassured that every village will have High-speed fiber optic data connectivity in three years.

The Prime Minister also said that mobile technology will be used for mass inoculation against the COVID-19 virus. “It is also with the help of mobile technology that we will embark on one of the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination drive,” he said, though he did not give any more details.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani was also one of the keynote speakers at IMC and he stressed on the need for a 5G revolution in India, adding that Jio would help pioneer this in the country by the second half of 2021.

“India is today among the best digitally connected nations in the world. In order to maintain this lead, policy steps are needed to accelerate early rollout of 5G, and to make it affordable and available everywhere. I assure you that JIO will pioneer the 5G Revolution in India in the second half of 2021,” Ambani said in his speech.

He also stressed on the need for affordable smartphones for the underprivileged. “As many as 300 million mobile subscribers in India are still trapped in the 2G era. Urgent policy steps are needed to ensure that these underprivileged people have an affordable smartphone,” he said.

Regarding 5G connectivity, Ambani said Jio’s 5G network will be powered by ”indigenous-developed network, hardware and technology components,” and said it would be a testament to the Prime Minister’s vision for Atma Nirbhar Bharat.

“Jio Platforms, with its family of over 20 start-up partners, has built world-class capabilities in Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Big Data, Machine Learning, Internet of Things, Blockchain, etc. We are creating compelling home-grown solutions in Education, Healthcare, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Financial Services and New Commerce. Each of these solutions, once proven in India, will be offered to the rest of the world to address global challenges,” he added.

He also talked about the need for manufacturing digital hardware in the country, adding that one cannot be dependent on large-scale imports. “Many leading Global companies are coming to India to set up manufacturing facilities. India has developed world-class strengths in chip design. I clearly foresee India becoming a major hub for the state-of-the-art semiconductor industry,” he said.

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