The Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) Scheme has recently approved 136 projects worth Rs 5.42 billion to strengthen indigenous telecom innovation across India, the government informed Parliament. The scheme focuses on bridging the digital divide by enabling development and manufacturing of advanced telecom technologies for rural and remote areas.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Communications and Rural Development Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said the TTDF Scheme, launched on 1 October 2022, supports IITs, NITs, MSMEs, start-ups and research institutions working on next-generation telecom solutions.

Key focus areas under TTDF include 5G and 6G technologies, Internet of Things, optical communications, satellite communication, quantum communication, indigenous core networks and open RAN. Among major initiatives, TTDF has approved a project to establish a 6G test bed at SAMEER, Kolkata, in collaboration with IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati and IIT Patna. The project is currently underway and has already developed an indigenous prototype.

The scheme promotes a consortium-based approach, encouraging collaboration between academia, start-ups, MSMEs and industry. While academic institutions contribute research expertise, start-ups and MSMEs bring innovation agility, and industry partners support manufacturing, scaling and deployment.

As on 10 December 2026, projects supported under TTDF have resulted in 26 patent filings, 36 contributions to telecom standards development and 48 research publications, reflecting growing domestic capability in advanced telecom technologies.