India has officially joined an exclusive club of just five nations capable of designing and manufacturing their own complete 4G telecom technology stack.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's inauguration of BSNL's fully indigenous "Swadeshi" 4G network stack from Jharsuguda, Odisha, on Saturday places India alongside Denmark, Sweden, South Korea, and China—ending decades of dependence on foreign vendors for critical telecom infrastructure.
From tech importer to creator economy
For years, India remained a consumer nation in telecom technology, relying entirely on international giants for 2G, 3G, and 4G systems.
The successful development of the "Bharat Telecom Stack" represents a complete transformation—from importing technology to creating it indigenously within just 22 months.
The breakthrough emerged from an unprecedented collaboration between public and private sectors.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spearheaded the mission-mode execution, working seamlessly with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), Tejas Networks, and BSNL to create a fully integrated, cloud-based network that can seamlessly upgrade to 5G.
Scale is the feat
More than 97,500 towers have been commissioned nationwide at a cost of Rs 37,000 crore, with over 18,900 sites specifically funded under the Digital Bharat Nidhi to connect 26,700 previously unserved villages in remote, border, and insurgency-affected areas.
These solar-powered installations create India's largest cluster of green telecom infrastructure, serving over 20 lakh new subscribers.
Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasised that India has shifted from being "service-oriented to a producer and innovation-driven nation," with the indigenous stack now ready for global export.
The technology strengthens national security by eliminating foreign dependencies in critical communications infrastructure, particularly vital for border regions and defence applications.
The timing couldn't be more symbolic—coinciding with BSNL's 25th anniversary, this launch aligned with Prime Minister Modi's Atmanirbhar Bharat vision while positioning India as a future telecom manufacturing hub.
This was visible in the PM's address when he hailed the move as "a significant step towards self-reliance" to ensure India's digital sovereignty in an increasingly connected world.