The Technology Advisory Group under the Empowered Technology Group met on 10 July 2026 to shape a national roadmap for telecom research and development. The discussion is important because telecom is now a base layer for India’s digital economy, linking digital public infrastructure, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, industrial automation, and critical infrastructure.

The meeting examined how India can build indigenous capability across the telecom value chain. The focus areas were standards development, intellectual property creation, advanced manufacturing, resilient strategic supply chains, and faster movement from research to commercial deployment.

What the meeting discussed

The meeting was chaired by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. It brought together members of the Technology Advisory Group, members of the Empowered Technology Group, senior government officials, academicians, industry representatives, and telecom startups.

The Department of Telecommunications highlighted a vision for an integrated telecom sector that goes beyond conventional services. The department linked future telecom planning with data centres, non-terrestrial networks, space-based communications, and AI-native networks.

The Telecom Technology Development Fund highlighted strategic areas for indigenous capability, including 5G-Advanced/6G, AI-native networks, Open RAN, satellite communications, cloud-native networks, and telecom semiconductors. It also stressed participation in global standardisation and the need for advanced telecom testbeds.

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