India okays 110 R&D projects focusing on 5G and 6G worth Rs304.70cr

• Each of the R&D projects greenlit under the scheme has a development timeline ranging from one to five years.
• Department of Telecommunications has been rolled out Financial Fraud Risk Indicator to curtail financial cybercrime.

India is ramping up efforts to drive research and innovation in telecom, with 110 projects focusing on 5G and 6G technologies collectively receiving approval under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme.

As of June 30, these projects represent a combined financial commitment of Rs304.70 crore, according to Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development, Dr. Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar.

Launched on October 1, 2022, the TTDF scheme was crafted to turbocharge research and development in homegrown telecom technologies. Its purpose? To encourage synergies between academic institutions, budding startups, MSMEs, research labs, and key industry players.

The collaborative approach aims to strengthen India’s telecom landscape by nurturing a pipeline of innovative products and solutions.

Spectrum of stakeholders

Each of the R&D projects greenlit under the scheme has a development timeline ranging from one to five years. As these initiatives are still at early stages, the TTDF is actively supporting a spectrum of stakeholders—government and private entities, small businesses, and new entrants alike—in their technological explorations of both 5G and the near-future 6G ecosystem.

On another critical front, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has set its sights on curtailing financial cybercrime. A powerful new tool, the Financial Fraud Risk Indicator (FRI), has been rolled out.

FRI assesses the risk level associated with each mobile number—labeling them as Medium, High, or Very High risk for fraud.

This intelligence is delivered via the Digital Intelligence Platform (DIP), arming banks, NBFCs, and UPI service providers with actionable insights. The end goal? Enable quick intervention, extra checks, or even block suspicious transactions before fraudsters can strike.

Financial scams

Regulators aren’t leaving the integration of this risk rating system to chance. The Reserve Bank of India has advised banks and payment operators to plug FRI directly into their operations—allowing for real-time alerts, warnings, or even temporary stoppage of suspect transactions.

The DIP’s impact is already visible: 34 financial organisations have taken decisive actions, resulting in the freezing of over 10 lakh bank accounts and wallets, while more than three lakh accounts have been slapped with credit and debit restrictions.

Driving these safeguards is the Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) project under the DoT, designed to protect consumers by cracking down on telecom-based cybercrimes and financial scams.

As the digital ecosystem in India grows, these multi-pronged efforts are laying a foundation for secure, world-class communications and trustworthy digital transactions.