The Indian government has approved more than ₹304 crore to support research and development (R&D) in 5G and 6G technologies. A total of 110 projects have received approval under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme as of June 30. This update was shared with the Parliament on Wednesday.
The TTDF scheme began on October 1, 2022. It was created to help fund R&D and boost innovation in telecom technology. The goal is to bring together universities, start-ups, small and medium businesses (MSMEs), research centres, and industries to strengthen India’s telecom system. Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, gave this information in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.
The approved projects will run for different durations, ranging from one year to five years. Most of them are still in their early development stages. The government is supporting these efforts through TTDF funding, which helps both public and private groups—including MSMEs and start-ups—work on new telecom solutions for 5G and 6G.
Alongside these developments, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has also introduced a new tool called the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI). This tool checks whether a mobile number is linked to possible financial fraud. It assigns risk levels such as Medium, High, or Very High.
The FRI helps banks, financial firms, and payment platforms like UPI to take extra steps to protect their customers. It is available to them through the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also advised banks and Payment Service Operators (PSOs) to connect their systems with the FRI and use it for real-time actions—such as sending alerts, delaying suspicious transactions, giving warnings, or stopping certain payments.
According to the latest reports submitted through DIP, 34 banks and payment platforms have already taken steps based on FRI alerts. They have frozen over 10.02 lakh bank accounts and wallets. Additionally, they have blocked debit or credit access to 3.05 lakh other accounts and wallets suspected of being involved in fraud.
The DoT also runs the Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU), which focuses on stopping telecom-related cybercrime and financial fraud. This unit works with several other parts of the government and the financial sector to detect and reduce the misuse of telecom services for illegal activities.
Through these efforts, the government aims to both strengthen India’s position in advanced telecom technologies like 5G and 6G and also protect citizens from digital financial fraud.