India poised to become ‘data capital of the world’: Jyotiraditya Scindia

India is poised to become the “data capital of the world” in the coming years, said Union Minister of Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia.

A major factor underpinning this growth is the drastic reduction in communication costs. The Minister noted that the price of one GB of data has fallen from 287 rupees just 11 years ago to just 9 rupees today, representing a 97% reduction in costs of communication.

Comparing this internationally, Scindia said that India’s data cost of 11 cents per GB is only 5% of the world average of $2.5 per GB.

“India, I believe in the next five years will become the data capital of the world in the time to come,” Scindia said, speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit 2025 on Friday.

Scindia said that India is now globally recognized as a digital-first economy, a shift largely led by the advancements in its telecom sector over the last decade. He cited significant growth in connectivity, with mobile subscribers increasing from around 800 million to 1.2 billion, making India the second-largest mobile market globally.

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Internet users have risen sharply from approximately 250 million to 974 million, while broadband users have jumped from a mere 66 million to nearly 940 million, he said.The Minister also pointed to India’s progress in achieving self-reliance in technology, mentioning the successful development of an indigenous 4G telecom stack. This makes India the fifth country globally with this capability.

The indigenous technology is currently being deployed on BSNL’s network, with close to 94,000 towers already installed out of a planned 100,000. He also noted that BSNL has posted a record net profit for the second consecutive quarter after 18 years.

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