5G completely indigenous, can provide service to other countries, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said that the 5G technology in India is completely indigenous and it can provide the service to other countries as well.

"Our 5G is completely indigenous. There could be some critical parts coming from countries like Korea, but certainly not from somebody else. India can provide 5G to other countries as well," Sitharam said at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).

The 5G services were recently launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in select Indian cities and are likely to cover the entire nation by 2024, she said.

"On 5G, I think, we can be immensely proud of India's achievements," Sitharaman said.

Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.

The 5G services will cover the entire country over the next couple of years – Jio promises to do that by December 2023 and Bharti Airtel by March 2024.

India now has the world's lowest data charges, as tariffs fell from a high of Rs 300 per 1 GB of data in 2014 to just Rs 10 per GB, he had said. Going by the average consumption of 14 GB of data per month, the data cost has come down from Rs 4,200 to Rs 125-150, the PM had added.