Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 7th edition of the country's biggest telecom industry event, 'India Mobile Congress 2023' on Friday October 27. The three-day event has been jointly organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

Modi in his inaugural address, highlighted India’s tech achievements and aspirations, including the fast adoption of 5G in the country. He noted that the ‘future is no longer a decade or a century away, but due to advances in technology, the future is here and now.’

The inauguration took place at the Bharat Mandapam. Apart from the inaugural address by the Prime Minister, telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, and industry giants like Mukesh Ambani, Sunil Bharti Mittal, and Kumar Mangalam Birla also addressed at the inauguration.

Speaking at the Indian Mobile Congress 2023, Vaishnaw said that the telecom industry is a gateway for Digital India. “Today, it is a sunrise sector that has come out of scams and litigation. The telecom industry in India is recognised for 5G rollout, cheap data, and the export of telecom tech,” he said.

Reliance Jio’s Akash Ambani addressed the inaugural session of the IMC for the first time at the 7th edition. He spoke about Jio 5G and Air Fibre. “Jio has had the fastest 5G rollout, and deployed a 5G cell every 10 seconds. It contributed to 85% of 5G capacity, one of the fastest 5G in the world,” he said. He gave PM a tour of Jio Pavilion. He showcased the Space Fiber technology that is capable of speeds up to 1GB per second. The Jio Bharat phone was also on display at the Indian Mobile Congress 2023.

In his inaugural speech, Bharti Airtel’s Sunil Mittal said that the company is truly inspired by PM Modi’s clarion call for digital infrastructure. He added that Airtel 5G is in 20,000 villages, and will cover the entire country with the 5G network by March 2024.

Kumar Mangalam Birla in his inaugural address thanked Modi for his vision of digital transformation. “India’s digital revolution is gaining global recognition for inclusion and innovation,” he said. He added that over the past years, Vodafone Idea has worked towards the 5G rollout and will make significant investments towards it.

Modi took a look at several booths set up at the India Mobile Congress. He visited the Nokia booth and took a look at the demo on 6G powered networks that sense, think, and act to work towards developing a connected future.

India Mobile Congress this year launched 'Aspire', a startup programme that will lay emphasis on igniting the future of entrepreneurship growth among young innovators and industry delegates in the telecom and other digital domains.

The three-day event is expected to witness 1,00,000-plus participants, more than 1,300 delegates, over 400 speakers, 225-plus exhibitors and 400 startups this year. In total, there will be participation from 31 countries.