Modi 3.0: DPDP, sat spectrum norms, electronics PLI boost on cards

MeitY targets framing guidelines for Artificial intelligence, DoT zeroes on spectrum auction, war on spam

Notifying rules governing landmark legislation passed last year, such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and the Telecommunications (Telecom) Bill, along with incremental tasks of framing guidelines for artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite spectrum, are expected to keep the ministers in charge of information technology (IT) and telecom busy in office in the first 100 days.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) would need to push through amendments to the IT Act and work on drafting the framework under the Digital India initiative, which are expected to top the 100-day agenda, officials said.

The production-linked incentive scheme for electronics manufacturing, one of the most consequential owing to its export potential and impact on localisation, is expected to see further expansion, and the ministry might bring in similar fiscal incentives for the component ecosystem as well.

In the artificial intelligence (AI) domain, the implementation of the India AI mission, which squarely focuses on fostering India’s global leadership in AI, will be a key priority area.  However, back home, Meity would need to create meaningful regulation to tackle the rising menace of AI-driven deepfakes.

Many who track the ministry and the technology sector closely believe that the space won’t see much impact on the policymaking side, but the gestation time for regulations might get long, as now there could be a wider consensus-building exercise on policy matters under a coalition government.

Meity and the Ministry of Communications have always shared the same Cabinet minister since 2016, when the former was carved out of the communications ministry. 

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has straddled this technology policy space since 2021.

Telecom to-do

Successfully conducting a spectrum auction, currently set for June 25, ranks as the highest priority for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), officials say.

Multiple technological and policy interventions to crack down harder on the rising menace of spam messages and calls are expected to remain an integral part of the DoT’s 100-day agenda under the new government, officials said.

Given the universal nature of spam and tele-scams, the drive to overhaul key monitoring platforms like Chakshu and the mandatory implementation of the digital consent authorisation by telecom companies would be favoured by any minister, whether from the Bharatiya Janata Party or a coalition partner, officials say. 

Similarly, DoT’s incoming telecom minister will need to bring in the departmental rules to administer the landmark Telecom Bill and enact the terms of reference for the administrative allocation of satellite spectrum.

The game-changing technology is set to pit Bharti-backed 

Eutelsat OneWeb against Reliance Jio’s satellite arm JioSpace, with both having secured the requisite licence needed.