India is moving towards building an end-to-end telecom value chain spanning equipment, technology, innovation and rule-making, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said yesterday at a high-level CEO roundtable at India Mobile Congress 2026, as global and Indian industry leaders discussed AI, cloud and compute, advanced connectivity, intelligent networks and next-generation communications.

The Minister, according to an official statement put by the Communications Ministry, called for closer government-industry partnership to build a resilient, innovative and globally competitive telecom ecosystem.

Scindia chaired the roundtable on ‘The Sovereign Inflection & The Future of Telecom’ in New Delhi, which brought together senior representatives from telecom service providers, digital infrastructure companies, network equipment manufacturers, technology firms and consulting organisations.

DoT Secretary Amit Agrawal and senior department officials also participated in the deliberations.

The Minister said India had achieved substantial progress over the past decade in telecom coverage, penetration, affordability, inclusivity and innovation, creating the foundational layer for application platforms.

India is now the world’s second-largest telecom market and the second-largest mobile phone producer, he said.

The next inflection point, Scindia said, would be India’s ability to build the complete telecom value chain domestically. He pointed to the development of semiconductor manufacturing capacity, with 8-9 semiconductor fabs coming up in India,.

He said the country’s position would increasingly depend on who writes the rules, makes the equipment, designs innovation and builds the technology.

The discussions focused on the convergence of artificial intelligence, cloud and compute, advanced connectivity, intelligent networks and next-generation communication technologies.

Industry leaders also exchanged views on strengthening domestic capabilities, fostering innovation, building resilient digital infrastructure and creating a policy environment that can support sustained investment and technological advancement.

Scindia stressed that the telecom ecosystem now extends well beyond traditional network operators and equipment makers to include optical-fibre manufacturers, internet service providers, applications, platforms and emerging technologies such as AI.

He emphasised that the collective strength of these interconnected segments would determine India’s future digital competitiveness and resilience, while telecom increasingly serves as an enabling foundation for digital public infrastructure, innovation and economic growth.