Telecom PLI clocks Rs 96,240 crore sales in 2025, 5G now covers 99.9 pc of districts

New Delhi, Dec 19 (IANS) India’s telecom sector saw major gains in 2025 as 5G services were rolled out across all States and Union Territories and became available in 99.9 per cent of the country’s districts, Ministry of Communications said on Friday.

The government’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme helped generate Rs 96,240 crore in sales, Rs 19,240 crore in exports and around 30,000 jobs, the ministry said.

The Department of Telecommunications said 2025 marked a year of deep transformation for the Indian telecom ecosystem, driven by rapid 5G expansion, stronger digital infrastructure and a clear push towards self-reliance under the Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.

With population coverage of about 85 per cent, 5G services are now widely accessible, supported by the installation of over 5.08 lakh 5G base transceiver stations across the country.

The DoT noted that telecom growth has gone hand in hand with rising connectivity.

Overall tele-density rose to 86.65 per cent by September 2025, up from 75.23 per cent in 2014, while rural telephone connections grew by nearly 43 per cent, outpacing urban growth.

Internet usage also surged, with connections crossing the 100-crore mark, compared to just over 25 crore a decade ago.

Broadband adoption expanded sharply, rising from 6.1 crore connections in 2014 to nearly 100 crore in 2025.

At the same time, average monthly data consumption per wireless user jumped to 24.01 GB, making India one of the highest data-consuming nations globally.

Mobile broadband speeds also improved significantly -- reflecting the impact of fibre expansion and 5G rollout.

A major highlight of the year was the success of the telecom PLI scheme. Under Atmanirbhar Bharat, domestic manufacturing recorded sales of Rs 96,240 crore, exports worth Rs 19,240 crore and employment generation of around 30,000 jobs.

India also became only the fifth country in the world to develop its own indigenous 4G stack, which is upgradable to 5G.

The DoT said security and citizen protection were key priorities during the year.

Initiatives such as Sanchar Saathi and the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator helped prevent telecom-enabled fraud and protected citizens from financial losses.

Banks and payment platforms flagged over 70 lakh suspicious transactions, preventing losses of about Rs 450 crore.

--IANS