First Telecom Technology Development Fund symposium begins in Chennai

CHENNAI: Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications Niraj Mittal inaugurated the first edition of the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Symposium 2025. Participants in the three-day event include innovators and industry stakeholders.

Addressing the media, Mittal said, "The department is working on revamping the entire sanction programme of TTDF. The telecom sector saw a tremendous amount of funds flowing in. The challenge of this program is collaboration. Getting synergies across projects. This symposium is intended to bring all this knowledge together."

In 2024-25, the number of proposals evaluated doubled to 941 as against 405 in the previous year. A total of 125 proposals were approved in 2024-25 as against 7 in the previous year (up by 18 times) and the number of MoUs signed was 111 as against 7 (15 times). In 2024-25, a sum of Rs 297 crores was approved as against Rs 255 in the corresponding year. A sum of Rs 158 crores was disbursed (Rs 29 crore), he said.

"We have made targeted calls for chipset design, rural connectivity pilots, 6G, quantum standardisation and certification, and financial support for market steadiness," Mittal said.

Mittal said the department is also on an electronic platform by which knowledge sharing can happen among various stakeholders.