Jyotiraditya Scindia is at the helm of the Ministry of Communication at a time when India has become a pioneer in the digital revolution, and his ministry is one of the driving forces behind the transformation. In his earlier avatar, Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation in the previous NDA government, oversaw the privatisation of Air India, probably one of the most significant achievements of the Modi government in the last 11 years.
Born into the royal family of Gwalior and fondly known as Rajaji, Scindia carries forward his family’s rich political and social legacy, which has produced many political leaders, including his father, the late Madhavrao Scindia. A Harvard University graduate and an MBA from Stanford, Scindia is a politician with a rare combination of finesse and flamboyance. Excerpts:
Santwana Bhattacharya: When are we getting satellite connectivity?
For us, communication is not only a means of connecting people, but today, communication has become so vital that even if I use the word indispensable, it doesn’t do justice to it. It has become a vital part of the development trajectory of every human being globally.
We provide the carriageway or the expressway through which rich content and information reach all seven billion people worldwide. The beauty of this expressway is that it is no longer just an MDR (Main District Road), an NH (National Highway), or part of major projects like the Quadrilateral, Bharat Mala, or IMEC (the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor). Instead, it is a global expressway connecting every Indian to the world.
And when I say that, I mean opportunity. Today, we have a wealth of talent that is not only sitting in our Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 cities but also rural towns and villages. And when you give ubiquitous connectivity to 1.4 billion people, you are providing ubiquitous opportunity. And that is what our communication network provides today.
To give you a flavour of where we are compared to a decade ago, we have gone from 900 million mobile consumers to about 1.2 billion, from 250 million internet users to 974 million, and from 60 million broadband users (which is greater than 2G) to close to 942 million broadband users.
At the same time, you have seen a huge drop in costs. Those of us who were attuned to the mobile world remember when calls cost `16 per minute, and a handset used to cost close to `1 lakh. Ten years ago, mobile calls cost 50 paise per minute; today, they cost just 0.03 paise. A GB of data that once cost `287 now costs `9.06 (about 11 cents), making it the cheapest data in the world. The global average is $2.59 per GB, while in India, it is just 5% of that (11 cents).
This creates a huge opportunity for India to become a global data processing hub, allowing companies to set up data centres here and process information at a lower cost.
Santwana Bhattacharya: What about satellite connectivity?
Satellites are just one of the many provisions for providing connectivity. You have mobile networks, fibre broadband, and satellite — and my job as telecom minister is to provide all available options to consumers. I am not only the minister in charge of ISPs (internet service providers), TSPs (Telecom Service Providers), or satellite providers — but most importantly, I am the minister for Indian consumers. That is my first responsibility.
My job is to provide this bouquet of options to ensure that every consumer has the opportunity to choose. Yes, there are areas where traditional mobile towers (RAN/BTS) and fibre networks cannot reach, and that is where satellite connectivity becomes the expressway for consumers.
Additionally, satellite connectivity plays a critical role during natural disasters. It is a complementary technology in the suite of telecom services, and consumers will decide which service to use based on availability and pricing.
Our new Telecom Act, passed in November last year, includes provisions for satellite communication. The spectrum for satellite services will be assigned administratively. Some licences have already been issued, and more companies have applied.
On spectrum pricing, TRAI is determining the assignment cost. Once TRAI makes its decision, the spectrum will be allocated accordingly.
Dipak Mondal: When is Elon Musk’s Starlink coming to India?
My responsibility as a minister is to define policy, and based on that roadmap, India’s doors are open to everyone — whether it is Company X, Y, or Z. If an entity meets the regulatory requirements, we are happy to welcome it. The more, the merrier. India is one of the few countries with four major telecom players in the mobile sector. I recently attended the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, and I can tell you that very few countries have such a competitive telecom market. India can certainly accommodate more players and remains open to global investments.
Dipak Mondal: What will the government do with its stake in Vodafone Idea?
We hold 23.15% equity in Vodafone Idea. The management of the company determines its direction and future. Vodafone Idea has done a tremendous job — they have raised Rs 25,000 crore in equity and had the largest follow-on public offering of about Rs 18,000 crore. They are rolling out 5G network, and we certainly wish them luck.
Rakesh Kumar: BSNL is in profit in the Oct–Dec 2024 quarter for the first time after years...
This is the first time in 17 years that BSNL has made a quarterly profit. The last time was in 2007, so to be exact, 18 years ago. In the October–December quarter, we made a profit of Rs 262 crore. I have read many articles about financial juggling, depreciation norms, and other technicalities, but the fact is that our revenue for the quarter increased by 9%. We have also reduced costs by about 15%. Our three main revenue streams — lease lines, FTTH, and cellular income — have all grown between 14% and 18%.
Our EBITDA nearly tripled between Q3 FY 2024-25 and Q3 FY 2023-24, growing from Rs 545 crore to Rs 1,430 crore in the quarter. For a 12-month comparison, in FY 2023-24, our EBITDA was Rs 2,100 crore, and in nine months of FY 2024–25, it is already Rs 2,400 crore. That means we are already up by 8% in nine months.
Finally, our losses have reduced by nearly Rs 2,000 crore. Five years ago, we had a Rs 7,500-crore loss; last year, it was Rs 5,200 crore, and hopefully, this year, we will close at around Rs 2,500 crore.
Rakesh Kumar: When will BSNL have a commercial 4G and 5G network?
Commercial 4G has already started. Currently, we have 1.84 crore 4G customers. Our total customer base is about 9.1 crore, which has grown from 8.65 crore in June 2024 — an increase of 6%-7%. Our 4G customers have increased from 84 lakh to 1.8 crore in this period — almost two-and-a-half times growth. So, we already have a very sizable 4G customer base.
My target is to deploy 1,00,000 4G towers using India’s indigenous 4G stack. Historically, when moving from 3G to 4G, only four countries and five equipment manufacturers have been able to develop telecom equipment for 2G to 3G, 3G to 4G, and now 5G.
For the first time, India has broken into this elite group, becoming the fifth country in the world to develop its own indigenous 4G stack. This is only possible because of the Prime Minister’s resolve to make India Atmanirbhar in telecom.
We don’t want to be just a services nation; we want to be a product nation as well. This is being achieved through a joint working group between BSNL, C-DoT, and equipment manufacturer Tejas (part of TCS). This is a wholly indigenous solution, and we are rolling out 1,00,000 towers by June.
Santwana Bhattacharya: What is your take on the Manipur situation?
The government does not see it as a matter of concern, but is working on it assiduously. Manipur has, unfortunately, been facing this situation for decades. As far as developments are concerned, we are very much on track. I monitor them on my dashboard weekly.