5G to add $666 bn to Indian economy: Rajesh Pant

5G project will potentially add $666 billion to the Indian economy and enable FDI worth $273 billion in 10 years said Lt. General (Dr.) Rajesh Pant, National Cyber Security Coordinator, Prime Minister’s Office, Government of India speaking at CII Telecom event.

Speaking at the inaugural session of 7th Edition of Telecom Convergence Summit organised by CII, Lt. General (Dr.) Rajesh Pant said, “As per industry analysts and sources, the 5G project will potentially add $666 billion to the Indian economy and enable FDI of $273 billion in 10 years. It will help create 6 crore direct and indirect jobs, that is four times faster than current rate.”

In his opening remark, Umang Das, Summit Chairman and Special Advisor, ATC India said, “5G is going to be the key driver for achieving the digital India vision which in turn will be the showcase of new India 2022-23 onwards.”

“The need of the hour will be to strengthen our ecosystem into a state of readiness and at the same time maximise the utilisation of existing 4G networks,” added Das.

Speaking at the summit, Akhil Gupta, Vice Chairman, Bharti Group and Executive Chairman, Bharti Infratel said, “India should lead in setting up passive infrastructure which we lack and getting the various competitors to collaborate and bring out the best costing while rationalising the taxes of this industry to adopt 5G much faster.”

Sathish Gopalaiah, Partner, Deloitte India said, “5G will be a game changer for India creating significant social and economic impact. It will be an all-inclusive technology touching the life of every citizen and improving quality of living. 5G technologies through intelligent automation would also enhance efficiency and improve safety in industrial processes. The implications of 5G for India will be far-reaching and unparalleled.”

Addressing the summit, TV Ramachandran, President, Broadband India Forum said, “Expectations are very high on 5G that it will deliver great transformative promised land with improved user experience, new applications, new business models etc. I would suggest we do things with great depth and make 5G happen in a very sustainable manner recognising its full potentials and possibilities while preparing for 6G.”

Speaking at a session on advancing in 5G through collaboration & innovation, Vishal Awal, Vice President & Managing Partner – Telecom, IBM said, “IBM, via open source hybrid multi cloud approach, is actively collaborating and innovating with the fast emerging 5G ecosystem. The magic happens when 5G becomes accessible and affordable to the masses in India and rest of the world.”