Modi opens IMC 2026: 5G in every district, eyes on 6G, AI and chips

Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened the 10th India Mobile Congress (IMC) at Yashobhoomi, the convention centre in New Delhi, on Thursday, 8 October 2026. In his address he said 5G service now reaches every district in India, backed by more than 5.5 lakh 5G base stations, and that the next phase of the country's digital growth would centre on 6G, artificial intelligence and semiconductors. At the same event, Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said the government wants India's 5G user base to grow from about 550 million to one billion by 2030. The IMC, organised by the Department of Telecommunications and the Cellular Operators Association of India, is billed by its organisers as Asia's largest digital technology event and runs until 10 October.

The IMC is where India's telecom companies, equipment makers and the government signal their plans for the year ahead, so the speeches there are a good guide to where policy and investment will go. The headline message this year was a shift of focus. With 5G rolled out across the country, the government is now talking about 6G research, home-grown telecom equipment, chips and AI as the next stage, rather than coverage alone.

The one-billion target is ambitious. It would mean nearly doubling the 5G user base in about four years. Reports at the event noted that the 550 million figure counts people who benefit from 5G connectivity and should not be read as the number of unique dedicated 5G subscriptions, so progress toward the goal will depend on how it is measured. Reaching it would also require cheaper 5G phones, especially in smaller towns and villages, and continued network spending by operators.

Modi's emphasis on security reflects a real problem for users. Phone-based fraud and scam calls have become one of the biggest complaints of Indian mobile customers, and much of it is organised from outside the country. The Prime Minister's call for cross-border cooperation suggests the government sees fraud prevention as part of telecom policy, not only a police matter. The speech did not announce new manufacturing investments or specific chip projects, according to industry coverage of the event.

Short-term: Telecom operators, handset makers and equipment companies are using the four-day event to show 5G, satellite and AI products, and the government's stated priorities will shape which of them get policy support in the coming months.

Long-term: If the 6G, chip and equipment push succeeds, India could buy less telecom hardware from abroad and build more of its own, while the one-billion target would bring faster internet to hundreds of millions more people.

Who is affected: Mobile users, telecom operators, smartphone and network equipment makers, chip and AI start-ups, and agencies working against cyber fraud.

Questions and Answers