India should lead innovation around 6G, aim for 10% of global 6G patents by 2030: Minister Pemmasani

As India’s telecom ecosystem is readying 6G testbeds, Minister of State for Communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani has urged start-ups and industry players to aim for 10% global patents on 6G, the sixth generation of wireless cellular technology, by 2030.

The Minister felt the country needed to step up and lead 6G innovations towards the global roll-out of the technology and the country should target at least 10% of global patents around emerging 6G technologies by 2030.

“Hopefully, at least 10% of the patents can be from India by 2030. We missed the boat for 2G, 3G, 4G, and even for 5G,” he stated.

Speaking at the Bengaluru roadshow of India Mobile Congress 2025 on Tuesday, the Minister said, India’s telecommunication sector has achieved a transformative growth in the last 10 years, moving away from ‘digital divide’ to ‘digital dominance’ and now the country should aim for bigger things.

Elaborating on India’s dominance in telecom and connectivity, he said, some 95% of rural India has access to 4G, has a mobile subscriber base of 1.2 billion and around a billion broadband connections. The country, already the second largest telecom market in the world, would be investing $18 billion to connect 40,000 gram panchayats, and this would bring over 1.5 crore rural households under high-speed internet connectivity via subsidies, all leading towards an ICT democratisation, he observed.

The government also established 500 5G labs at various educational institutions so that students, researchers, and start-ups could test applications. The country also has the largest rural connectivity under BharatNet, which covers close to 2.2 lakh villages. Minister Pemmasani further said the country today was the second largest manufacturer of mobile phones. Ten years ago, 75% the mobile phones used in the country were imported and now the country is exporting mobile phones worth ₹1.8 trillion. “This moved us from made for India to make in India. Still, we have to go a long way.”

Also, through the Telecom Technology Development Fund, the country supported 120 high-tech start-ups with nearly ₹500 crore. Speaking on the occasion, Neeraj Mittal, Chairman, DCC & Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications, said, “We’ve often heard that India lagged in 4G, went with the world in 5G, and now we wish to lead in 6G.”