New Delhi: The Department of Telecommunications has announced the formation of the Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA), a collaborative platform consisting of public and private companies, academia, research institutions, and Standards development organizations.
To foster international collaboration and knowledge exchange, Bharat 6G Alliance will forge coalitions and synergies with other 6G Global Alliances. The website for Bharat6G Alliance can be accessed at https://bharat6galliance.com.
Furthermore, as part of the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), a grant of 240.51 crores was awarded, leading to the signing of two agreements for the following projects:
- 6G THz Testbed with Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) & Multiplexing through a consortium consisting of SAMEER, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Patna.
- dvanced Optical Communication Test Bed with consortium members including IIT Madras, IIT Delhi, Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Delhi, Signalchip Innovations, Signaltron Systems Pvt Ltd, Sasmos het Technologies Ltd, SFO Technologies Pvt. Ltd, ERNET India, Quanfluence Private Ltd, Sterlite Technologies Limited, Nav tech, and Tejas network.
Additionally, a grant of Rs. 48 crores was allocated to 66 startups and MSMEs under the DCIS (Digital Communication Innovation Square) program. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recognized 75 innovators for their exceptional contributions and dedication to the field. The DoT has been providing funding to startups and MSMEs through the DCIS Scheme.
Shri Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for Communications stated India is a bright spot in the world’s economy, and the telecom sector is the brightest spot in India and lauded the stakeholders for the efforts. He added various citizen & industry-centric reforms have led to a transparent spectrum auction of over 1.5 Lakh Crore in a record time of 42 days and 2.70 lakh 5G sites in 9 months which is one of the fastest rollouts in the world. He appreciated the efforts of the awardees and also thanked the contribution of all stakeholders that have led to the indigenous design of 4G and 5G technology and mentioned that with the Bharat6G Alliance, India shall now lead in 6G technology.
Addressing the gathering, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Communications, Railways and Electronics & IT, said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, in past nine years, various series of reforms, which include structural, procedural reforms and relief measures, have been undertaken for Telecom Sector that has led to a transformation of Telecom Sector as a sunrise sector. He added that World is following the path of technology that India is following.
He said, in consequence to Prime Minister visit to the United States of America, India, and USA shall co- create technology and the change shall be instrumental to Developed India. He also mentioned the Semiconductor Mission wherein for Micron Technologies, Land Approval and Project approval have been done within two weeks of the announcement and Ground Breaking Ceremony for the first chip manufacturing unit shall be done with in next 40- 45 days. Five (5) design companies have been given approval for chip design, out of which two shall be working in Telecom Sector. He also mentioned that India is developing advanced optical communication with zero latency that shall help in fields like Telemedical and Telesurgery. He further emphasized that Bharat 6G alliance shall provide a push for making India a leader in 6GTechnology and IPR.
Aligned with Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s clarion call of adding Jan Anusandhaan in the new phase of Amrit Kaal, the Government of India with the support of startups, industry, academia, R&D institutes is relentlessly working towards ensuring digital and mobile inclusivity across the country and empowering of common citizens through last mile digital revolution and rapid proliferation of mobile and digital services.
About Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA)
The primary objective of B6GA is to understand the business and societal needs of 6G beyond technology requirements, foster consensus on these needs, and promote high-impact open research and development (R&D) initiatives.
B6GA aims to bring together Indian startups, companies, and the manufacturing ecosystem to establish consortia that drive the design, development and deployment of 6G technologies in India. By accelerating standards-related patent creation within the country and actively contributing to international standardization organizations such as 3GPP and ITU, B6GA seeks to position India at the forefront of 6G innovation.
One of the key goals of B6GA is to facilitate market access for Indian telecom technology products and services, enabling the country to emerge as a global leader in 6G technology. To achieve this, These efforts shall promote technology ownership and indigenous manufacturing, create a culture of technology co-innovation, reduce imports, boost export opportunities and augment creation of Intellectual Property.
About Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF)
Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme was launched by DoT/USOF on 01.10.2022. 5% of annual collections from USOF will be available for TTDF Scheme for funding research & development of technologies, products, and services. The scheme is envisaged to bridge digital divide by developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art technologies and to form synergies among academia, start-ups, research institutes, and the industry to build and develop the telecom ecosystem.
The Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme entails grants to Indian entities to encourage and induct indigenous technologies tailor-made to meet domestic needs. Under the TTDF scheme, USOF, DoT is also targeting to develop standards to meet countrywide requirements and create the ecosystem for research, design, prototyping, use cases, pilots, and proof of concept testing, among others.
