India's Telecom Boom: Soaring Connections and Falling Tariffs

India boasts 117 crore mobile and 93 crore internet connections, making call and data rates some of the lowest globally. Under the Digital India Initiative, significant investments have been made to promote startups and innovation, extending connectivity to 95% of the country's villages.

India now has an impressive 117 crore mobile connections and 93 crore internet connections, according to Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia's statement in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Scindia highlighted that India's call rates are some of the lowest in the world.

The minister noted a steep decline in the cost of calls, with rates dropping from 53 paisa per minute to just 3 paisa, marking a 93 percent reduction. Additionally, the cost of one GB of data has plummeted to Rs 9.12, making it the cheapest globally.

Under the Digital India Initiative, several technology-led startups and innovation schemes are in progress with a funding of around Rs 800 crore. These initiatives are focused on tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and as of March 2024, 95.15 percent of India's villages have access to 3G/4G mobile connectivity.

(With inputs from agencies.)