Snapshot
Connecting the world
The Telecom industry in India is the second-largest in the world with a subscriber base of over 1.2 bn.
The industry has witnessed exponential growth over the last few years primarily driven by affordable tariffs, wider availability, roll-out of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), expanding 3G and 4G coverage, evolving consumption patterns of subscribers and a conducive regulatory environment.
India has the second largest number of telephone connections in the world. As on 31st December,2020, the total telephone connections rose to 1173.83 mn out of which 1153.77 mn are mobile connections. The tele-density has reached 86.38%, while the rural tele-density is at 59.05%.
The number of internet subscribers which was 687.62 mn in 2019 increased to 795.18 mn by the end of December, 2020
Indian smartphone users consume maximum data in the world at 12GB/month and which could increase to 25 GB/month by 2025.
- Total number of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) connections is expected to reach 1.4 bn by 2020 from 1.1 bn in 2017
- Telecom industry contribution to GDP is expected to reach 8.2% by 2020 from 6.5% in 2017
100% FDI is allowed in the Telecom, wherein upto 49% is allowed through the automatic route and beyond 49% under government route.
For further details, please refer FDI Policy
- %
Contribution to India’s GDP
- mn
Total employment
- mn+
Smartphone subscriptions
No. of smart cities
Digital India is expected to create $ 1.3 tn business opportunity by 2020
Number of internet users in India is expected to reach 829 mn by 2021
~410 mn additional smartphone users are expected in India by 2025
- Industry Scenario
- FOREIGN INVESTMENT
- INDUSTRY TRENDS
- POLICIES & SCHEMES
Industry Scenario
The Indian Mobile industry is expected to create a total economic value of $217.4 bn by 2020.
The Telecommunications industry is divided into following subsectors: Infrastructure, Equipment, Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MNVO), White Space Spectrum, 5G, Telephone service providers and Broadband.
As per GSMA, India is on its way to becoming the second-largest smartphone market globally by 2025 with around 1 billion installed devices and is expected to have 920 million unique mobile subscribers by 2025 which will include 88 million 5G connections.
Telecom tower in India is set to boom as its tenancy ration will increase from 1.95 times in 2016 to 2.9 times by 2020 due to the expansion of 3G and 4G and the onset of 5G technologies.
5G is set to be a game changer for the telecom industry and is expected to yield enormous economic opportunities over the next three to five years. India has the potential to unlock $48.69bn through the deployment of 5G over the next four years
More than 70 companies have received approval from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to provide MVNO services. The majority of these companies are focused on Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
The DoT is targeting a combination of 100% broadband connectivity in the villages, 55% fiberisation of mobile towers, average broadband speeds of 25 mbps and 30 lakh kms of optic fibre rollouts by December 2022. By December 2024, it is looking at 70% fiberisation of towers, average broadband speeds of 50 Mbps and 50 lakh kms of optic fibre rollouts at a pan-India level.
GROWTH DRIVERS
PLI Schemes under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan
Production Linked Incentive schemes worth INR 12,195 cr for manufacturing of telecom and networking products
Growing demand
Nominal per capita income recorded a CAGR of 10.4% during 2012-17
Increasing internet revenues
Mobile value-added service industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 18.5% during the period 2015-2020 and reach US $23.0 Billion by 2022
Increased equipment manufacturing
268 mobile and mobile components manufacturing units set up across the country
Make in India
The government announced Phased Manufacturing Program (PMP) to promote domestic production of mobile handsets
Bharatnet project
Optical fiber cables laid over 100,000 gram panchayats
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in Telecom & Networking Products sector for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports – Atmanirbhar Bharat.
INR 12,195 cr
Scheme Outlay