India Showcases BharatNet at ITU PP-26 Conference in Doha

Union Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Dr Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani set out India's position on digital connectivity, emerging technologies and cybersecurity at the International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference, known as PP-26, being held in Doha. The Ministry of Communications issued his remarks on 11 November 2026. The Plenipotentiary Conference is the ITU's highest decision-making body, which makes it the forum where member states settle policy direction for global telecommunications.

What the minister told the conference

Speaking at the High-Level Discussion on Emerging Technologies, Dr Pemmasani noted that 2.2 billion people worldwide are still offline. Against that, he pointed to India's investment of about 15 billion dollars in BharatNet to carry broadband into rural areas. He also described Samriddh Gram Centres, a winner of the WSIS Prize, where villagers can get healthcare, farm advice, banking services and government certificates in one place.

The technology agenda he listed

• Affordable artificial intelligence computing for Indian innovators.
• AI models built in Indian languages.
• Quantum research hubs.
• 100 use-case labs for 5G, meant to build skills for the years ahead.
• A modern regulatory framework and the Bharat 6G Vision, which prepares for telecom networks, AI and satellites converging.

His central argument on governance was that developing countries should have a larger hand in framing global technology standards and spectrum policy, so that they shape these technologies instead of only adopting them.

Bilateral meetings and cyber fraud

On the sidelines of PP-26 the minister met delegations from Malaysia, Iran and Uzbekistan. Those talks covered cross-border cyber fraud, the security of digital infrastructure and cooperation in quantum technology. Sharing India's own experience of tackling digital fraud, he said that alerts sent to banks had helped prevent suspected financial losses of more than 5,000 crore rupees. He summed up the case for working together in a line that the ministry used as its headline: cyber threats do not respect borders, and cooperation should not either, because learning from each other's best practices makes every country stronger. For exam purposes the points to hold on to are the conference and its venue, the minister's portfolio, the BharatNet investment figure, the WSIS Prize for Samriddh Gram Centres and the count of 5G labs.