By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 22, 2024: THE theme of the India Mobile Congress 2024, 'The Future is Now', was unveiled yesterday by Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region here yesterday. The theme signifies how India stands at the heart of the technological evolution and IMC 2024 bringing together global leaders - visionaries, pioneers, and innovators - to collaborate and actively shape the technologies transforming our world today, where the future isn't just a concept - it's happening.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Minister for Communications and Development of Northeastern Region, launched the Indian Mobile Congress 2024 application and Website, a unique interactive App for registration. With the first registration and keynote address by Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, the Indian Mobile Congress also announced the opening of the registrations for Delegates, Visitors, Academia/College, Government and Media.

In his Keynote Address, Minister of Communications said: "Technology is best when it brings people together. There can be no better example than our country Bharat" He emphasised on the role of technology in bridging divides across the country in line with the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said, "It is technology and communications that will provide a platform of opportunities. Communications and networks will bring together the people from first village of India to the people of central villages of India."

Minister of Communications called IMC as a global melting point and hoped to see India in the centre of such events for the time to come. He said that the theme 'Future is Now' represents both our capabilities, our achievements, and the possibilities of the future. He highlighted the revolutionary changes in the telecom sector in the last 10 years and said that India has transitioned from being a consumer of technology to now being a supplier of technology. He lauded various telecom interventions such as The Telecom Act 2023, PLI Scheme, fastest 5G rollout, among other interventions and gave a commitment that the rules of The Telecom Act 2023 will be notified within the next 180 days.

During this occasion, DoT announced conferment of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Telecom Excellence Awards 2023, to the following awardees for their exemplary and outstanding contributions in the areas of Telecom Innovations, Telecom Skillin g, Telecom Services, Telecom Manufacturing, and Telecom Applications :

The Minister also launched the Testing Scheme for Start-ups & MSMEs and oversaw the signing of MoU for between NTIPRIT and IIT Jammu for capacity building in the areas of Cybersecurity.

On this occasion, Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Chairman, DCC & Secretary (T), Department of Telecommunication (DoT), Ministry of Communications, delivered a special address, highlighting India's telecom prowess and success in the 5G revolution. Abhijit Kishore, Chairman COAI welcomed the gathering with his address.

IMC-2024, WTSA-2024 & GSS-2024

The eighth edition of Asia's premier digital technology exhibition, India Mobile Congress (IMC), co-hosted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) will be held from 15th October at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi this year.

Concurrent to IMC 2024, India is also hosting the prestigious international conferences - World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly New Delhi 2024 (WTSA 2024) and Global Standards Symposium (GSS 2024) from 14-24 Oct, 2024 at the same venue.

Backgrounds:

Indian Mobile Congress 2024

IMC 2024 will bring an urgent and engaging narrative, reminding that the technologies we once dreamed of are now an active part of our daily lives and will encourage attendees to delve into the latest advancements in domains like 6G, AI, Semiconductors, Broadcasting, Electronics manufacturing, Satcom, Quantum, and Security etc. India Mobile Congress 2024 will serve as a perfect platform to showcase innovative solutions, services and state-of-the-art use cases for industry, government, academics, startups and other key stakeholders in the technology ecosystem.

The prestigious IMC 2024, this year is expecting over 400 exhibitors, 640 startups and many more to participate and display their products, solutions, and use cases to more than 150,000 attendees, including delegates from 120+ countries. The event aims to showcase more than 900 technology use case scenarios, host 100+ sessions and talks by more than 600 speakers. Through Aspire the pioneering startup programme, IMC 24 aim to enable more than 500 one-to-one meetings with interaction with more than 1000 potential investors, angels, incubators and VC funds.

IMC 2024 App

The Indian Mobile Congress 2024 application is available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The registrations are also accessible through the interactive application. The intuitive app combines cutting-edge AI technology with user-friendly features to ensure that the visitors make the most of every moment at the forum. One can easily follow the process and register from the IMC website: https://registration.indiamobilecongress.com/ .  

'Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Excellence Award- 2023'

Five (05) Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Telecom Excellence Awards are given annually to individuals, Institutions, and organisations for their exemplary and outstanding contributions in the areas of Telecom Innovations, Telecom Skillin g, Telecom Services, Telecom Manufacturing, and Telecom Applications over the past three years.

Conferred annually, each Award carry a shawl, citation/plaque and a cash amount of Rupees Two Lakh.

These awardees were selected, out of the 75 applications received, by the award committee headed by Secretary (T).

Testing and Re-imbursement scheme for Start-up and MSEs

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a reimbursement scheme aimed at easing financial burdens for startups and Micro & Small Enterprises (MSEs) in the telecom sector. Designed to foster domestic manufacturing, attract investments, and enhance exports, the scheme will reimburse up to INR 50 lakhs per startup or MSE for testing and certification costs essential for product quality and market access. With a total fund allocation of Rs. 25 crore, the application process will be entirely online, simplifying procedures and ensuring efficient handling of submissions. Startups will receive 75% reimbursement, micro- enterprises 60%, and small enterprises 50%, reflecting DoT's commitment to equitable support for growth and innovation in the telecom industry.

For more information on eligibility criteria and application guidelines, please visit [DoT's official website- https://ttdf.usof.gov.in/reimbursement ].

MOU for capacity building on Cyber Security between IIT Jammu and NTIPRIT

As India grows in telecommunications and information technology and people move towards usage of e-services there is a growing need for cyber security tools and techniques to be procured along with the manpower that can operate those highly technical domain tools. DoT and NTIPRIT have prepares a programme where core technical training and expertise can be imparted by leading Institutions and Industry in Cyber Security to prepare officers with a highly in depth understanding of this field, development of advance cyber security tools/solutions in India and preparation of cyber experts of tomorrow. These experts will then train many others when they come back and slowly a strong set of professionals for India can be created.

NTIPRIT has done MoU with IIT Jammu to provide this extended 6-month hybrid (in campus and online) training to the selected 30 officers along with partner institutions that are leading in this field.