Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off a major boost to India’s telecom scene today by launching the BSNL Swadeshi 4G network nationwide from Jharsuguda in Odisha. The rollout includes over 92,000 homegrown 4G towers across the country, with more than 4,000 popping up in Gujarat alone. This comes right in time for BSNL’s Silver Jubilee, celebrating 25 years of connecting Indians from cities to villages.
In Gandhinagar, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel joined the excitement at Mahatma Mandir alongside Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya. Patel hailed the launch as a special gift from Modi during the festive Navratri and Diwali seasons. He pointed out that this Swadeshi 4G network perfectly fits Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or self-reliant India. In fact, the company announced over 97,500 new 4G sites, including 14,000 under a saturation project to reach every corner.
Gujarat gets a big slice of this action, with those 4,000 towers linking up more than 11,000 villages to high-speed 4G mobile services. Over 600 of them target remote, hilly, and tribal spots, making sure no one gets left behind in the digital rush. Patel said this builds on nationwide campaigns like Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan and Har Ghar Swadeshi, which started on Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya’s birthday and run through to Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s on December 25.
“Connecting Bharat” – that’s BSNL’s tagline – really shines through here, Patel added. Over the last 11 years, India has seen huge leaps in roads, rails, metros, airports, and now telecom networks, turning Modi’s dream of a connected nation into everyday reality. He credited initiatives like Make in India, Digital India, and Startup India for putting India on the global map, shifting us from big importers to proud exporters in defense, semiconductors, and electronics.
The telecom world has flipped too, Patel noted. Once seen just as a massive market, India now leads as a top solution provider worldwide. “We’ve moved from Made for India to Made in India, Made for the World,” he said proudly. Modi’s push for digital access in rural, remote, and border areas is a game-changer for self-reliance. Digitization has simplified lives everywhere, especially in villages, where mobile phones now go beyond calls to drive progress in education, farming, e-commerce, and healthcare.
Thanks to the Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile trio, benefits flow directly to the needy. In Gujarat, digital governance has been strong for over two decades, with broadband powering 320+ services at 14,000 e-Gram centers. Patel called this decade under Modi a true “Techade,” fueling India’s rise to the world’s third-largest economy. He urged everyone to embrace homegrown tech and products to supercharge the self-reliance movement.
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya echoed the pride, calling the Swadeshi 4G launch a landmark for Aatmanirbhar Bharat and national self-sufficiency. He shared how India has transformed under Modi – from importing bullets to exporting defense gear, and racing to develop COVID vaccines in record time. Just a month after the world’s first dose, Indian scientists rolled out two homegrown shots on January 16, 2021, proving our mettle.
Mandaviya spotlighted Digital India’s role in tackling India’s diverse landscapes, from the 3,000-km Himalayas and 7,000-km coastline to scorching deserts in Kutch and Rajasthan. Farmers now check weather and crop prices right from their fields via mobile, while fishermen get sea updates for safer, smarter hauls. In far-off spots like Gujarat’s Dang district, kids in tribal areas can access education digitally. “This tech isn’t just connecting us – it’s changing lives,” he said.
BSNL’s Gujarat Chief General Manager Govind Kewlani welcomed the crowd, noting the company’s journey since 2000. This 4G milestone puts India among just five nations with a fully domestic telecom stack, from landlines and broadband to mobiles serving urban and rural folks alike. ADG Sandeep Sawarkar thanked everyone for the support.
The event, themed “Garv Se Kaho Ye Swadeshi Hai” (Proudly Say This Is Indigenous), drew Gandhinagar Mayor Miraben Patel, ITI Limited CMD Rajesh Rai, Reliance Jio’s Dhanraj Nathwani, and top officials like CM Secretary Vikrant Pandey and DST Secretary P. Bharathi. BSNL staff, villagers from nine Gujarat districts, and citizens turned out in force. Chief Ministers from eight states, including Gujarat, joined virtually.
This nationwide push promises faster internet and better connectivity, especially for rural India, as BSNL steps up its game in the Swadeshi 4G era.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
