From 4G Self-Reliance to Global 6G Leadership: India Charts the Path to a Viksit Bharat
The Bharat 6G Vision 2030, unveiled in March 2023, positions India as a major player in global telecom innovation by the end of this decade.
From 4G self-reliance to 6G global innovation, India’s telecom revolution gains pace
New Delhi, October 27: India’s telecom sector is entering a new phase of transformation. Guided by the government’s Viksit Bharat by 2047 vision, the country is preparing to leap from 4G self-reliance to global 6G leadership. The newly released policy document, “Building a Viksit Bharat with 6G”, outlines a strategic roadmap that places India at the forefront of next-generation connectivity — defined by affordability, sustainability, and universality of access, the government said in a statement on Sunday.
From Vision to Innovation: India’s 6G Ambition
The Bharat 6G Vision 2030, launched in 2023, envisions India as a global co-leader in 6G design, development, and deployment by 2030. With the experience gained from its rapid 5G rollout and indigenous 4G ecosystem, India is now focusing on building the world’s most inclusive and affordable 6G network infrastructure.
The 6G framework aims to deliver data transmission in just one microsecond — a thousand times faster than 5G — enabling transformative applications like remote robotic surgeries, real-time AI systems, immersive virtual reality, and smart urban management.
By 2035, the government projects a USD 1.2 trillion GDP impact from next-generation telecom and digital services, while targeting 10 percent of global 6G patents through sustained R&D and innovation efforts.
Bharat 6G Alliance: Uniting India’s Innovation Forces
The Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) is the cornerstone of India’s 6G roadmap. It brings together startups, telecom service providers, research institutions, academia, and industry associations to create a collaborative and self-reliant innovation ecosystem.
So far, over 80 member organizations, including 30 startups, have joined the alliance. B6GA has established seven specialized working groups covering key areas such as spectrum optimization, applications, green technologies, sustainability, and use cases.
To ensure that India remains plugged into the global standardization ecosystem, the alliance has signed MoUs with leading 6G research bodies — including the NextG Alliance (USA), 6G IA (Europe), 6G Forum (South Korea), 6G Flagship (Finland), XGMF (Japan), and 6G Brasil (Brazil) — marking India’s entry into the league of nations shaping the global 6G framework.
R&D and Testbeds: Strengthening the Foundation
India’s 6G preparedness rests on an expanding base of domestic research and innovation. The Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), launched in 2022, has sanctioned 115 R&D projects worth ₹310.6 crore in areas including 5G-Advanced (5G+), optical communication, terahertz spectrum, and satellite-terrestrial integration.
Two major testbeds — a 6G Terahertz Testbed and an Advanced Optical Communication Testbed — are under development to accelerate domestic innovation and intellectual property creation.
To prepare future talent, the government has also established 100 5G labs across academic institutions nationwide. These labs are providing students, startups, and MSMEs hands-on access to test environments, fostering experimentation and use-case development that can evolve into 6G-ready solutions.
Technology Innovation Hub at IIIT-B: Building the Brains of 6G
Under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), a Technology Innovation Hub at IIIT Bangalore is developing advanced communication systems and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces for next-generation networks.
The hub’s focus areas include massive MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) systems, open-RAN frameworks, and AI-driven network orchestration — innovations that will define the technical backbone of 6G networks. Priority is given to indigenous research capable of generating product-level IP and patents, strengthening India’s position as a global telecom technology originator rather than a consumer.
The New Delhi Declaration: 6G as a Global Public Good
At the International 6G Symposium 2025, held during the India Mobile Congress, global industry leaders signed the New Delhi Declaration — a landmark joint statement recognizing 6G as a global public good.
The declaration set forth guiding principles for next-generation networks to be trusted, secure, resilient, interoperable, inclusive, affordable, and sustainable. It emphasized energy-efficient design, satellite and high-altitude integration, and global digital inclusion, ensuring that advanced connectivity benefits both developed and developing nations.
A series of whitepapers released by the Bharat 6G Alliance during the event — including Spectrum Roadmap for 6G in India, AI and Network Evolution to 5G, and 6G Architecture, Security, and Exposure Framework — outlined India’s technical priorities for the coming decade.
Global Collaboration Meets Local Innovation
India’s 6G strategy underscores that leadership in telecom innovation must balance global collaboration with local self-reliance. By linking its 6G efforts to the Viksit Bharat vision, India aims to bridge rural–urban divides, empower startups, and ensure that digital progress is equitable.
The government’s vision aligns with its broader digital transformation goals — from building secure supply chains and indigenous chips to promoting green telecom and AI-integrated networks.
As India deepens its partnerships with international research alliances, the message is clear: the country is not just catching up with the global 6G race — it’s co-writing the rulebook.
Towards a Connected and Self-Reliant Future
India’s transition from a technology adopter to a technology creator marks a defining moment in its digital journey. Through concerted efforts like the Bharat 6G Alliance, Telecom Technology Development Fund, and IIIT-B Innovation Hub, the nation is building an ecosystem that is future-proof, inclusive, and globally competitive.
By combining innovation with affordability, sustainability, and ubiquity, India is laying the foundation for a resilient digital infrastructure that supports both economic growth and social equity — steering the nation closer to the vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047, the government added.
