New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) The government has established 100 5G labs at academic institutions across India for capacity building and for creating a 6G-ready academic and startup ecosystem in the country, the Parliament was informed on Thursday.

Under the initiatives that have been taken to facilitate the development of 6G technology in the country, the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Scheme was launched on October 1, 2022, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

The scheme aims to fund research and development (R&D) and innovation in telecom technologies, including 6G, fostering collaboration between academia, start-ups, MSMEs, research institutes and industry to enhance the telecom ecosystem in India. A total of 104 projects related to 6G technology, amounting to Rs. 275.88 crore, have been approved under the TTDF scheme till July 2025, the Minister stated.

According to the minister, the government has facilitated the setting up of ‘Bharat 6G Alliance’, which is an alliance of domestic industry, academia, national research institutions and standards organisations to develop an action plan according to the Bharat 6G Vision.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with leading global 6G alliances to enhance global collaborations for the development of 6G wireless technologies, the Minister stated.

As part of the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) has been established at the IIITB-Comet Foundation, hosted by the International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore (IIIT Bangalore).

This TIH is dedicated to advancing research and innovation in the technology vertical “Advanced Communication Systems.”, currently focusing on cutting-edge technologies such as Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS) and advanced O-RAN Massive MIMO systems, to enhance coverage, capacity, and integrated sensing capabilities in future 6G networks.

The International Telecommunication Union Radio communication Sector (ITU-R) recommendation M.2160, outlines the vision for 6G or IMT-2030 and roadmap for rollout of 6G Technology by 2030, the Parliament was informed on Thursday, the minister highlighted.

–IANS

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