India to develop its own handset brand: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Make in India: India is looking to create an entire handset ecosystem, and develop its own handset brand according to Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The Union Minister for Railways, Telecom and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) was speaking in a fireside chat during the launch of PhonePe’s Indus Appstore in Bharat Mandapam on Wednesday.

Incidentally, he was also elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha from Odisha on Tuesday.

India has made big strides under Digital India in terms of connectivity, applications and structures, he said, adding that the applications of these ecosystems are going global.

The country, which was a consumer of technology fifteen years back, is now being looked as a co-creator and partner in development, with advancements in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and communications, Vaishnaw emphasised.

India’s Semiconductor Push

On semiconductors, the Union Minister said India has the best design capabilities with 30 per cent of global talent coming from India.

“India is moving from being a back-office to becoming a product developing ecosystem,” Vaishnaw said.

Laying out a roadmap for developing the semiconductor industry in the next 20 years, Vaishnaw also pointed that the next level of productivity will come from advanced manufacturing and packaging.

Telecom Turnaround

Highlighting India’s strides in the telecommunications space, the Minister emphasised that the industry, which was earlier defined by scams like the 2G and 3G scams of the last decade, is now a sunshine industry.

India is carrying out complex telecom exports to the United States and Europe, cutting-edge, and  is set to take leadership in 6G over the next 5 years by 2029, he affirmed. 

Railway Rise

The Indian Railways is also seeing a turnaround in operations, with the “entire railway ecosystem getting into shape,” the Minister said, adding that work is going on at a great pace at third floor plus level.

Citizens are owning the work of the Railways, he added.

He also shared that during a review with the Japanese Ambassador also applauded the pace of work being carried out in the department.