New Delhi | September 1, 2025 (PIB): Union Minister of Communications Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia has urged regulators worldwide to move beyond enforcement and become builders of inclusive digital ecosystems, in his address to the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) Global Symposium for Regulators (GSR) 2025, hosted virtually from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The address was delivered by Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, Union Minister of Communications, during the high-level Executive Roundtable at GSR 2025. The event brought together ICT regulators, policymakers, industry leaders, and digital experts from over 190 countries.
Minister Scindia called for regulators to transform into ecosystem builders—creating frameworks for public digital infrastructure, enabling innovation through regulatory sandboxes, and embedding trust via citizen-centric policies and strong data safeguards.
The 25th edition of GSR is being held from August 31 to September 3, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, under the theme “Regulation for Sustainable Digital Development.”
Scindia positioned India as a global model for regulatory transformation, citing the nation’s 5G rollout across 776 districts, connecting over 300 million users, and the country’s rise to the world’s highest per capita data usage. He emphasized that modern regulation should nurture innovation while protecting citizens, comparing it to a “garden to be nurtured, not a fence to restrict.”
The Minister highlighted India’s policy reforms—from the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and Telecom Cybersecurity Rules, 2024 to the Digital Bharat Nidhi fund—as examples of progressive regulation. He showcased initiatives such as Aadhaar, Jan Dhan Yojana, PM-WANI, BharatNet, and India Post as living digital arteries that deliver empowerment and dignity.
He further called for global harmonization of spectrum bands, disaster-resilient green networks, and a Digital Consumer Charter to ensure fairness, transparency, and trust. On Artificial Intelligence, he underlined India’s balanced approach, backed by the IndiaAI Mission (₹10,371.92 crore / USD 1.2 billion) to foster safe, ethical, and inclusive AI
