(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, July 10 (IANS) It's time that India moves from being the world's back office to becoming its innovation engine, said Union Minister of Communications Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Thursday, while inaugurating the VTU-VRIF-TCOE Hub and Spoke of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) -- a strategic partnership between Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), the Visvesvaraya Research and Innovation Foundation (VRIF), and Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCOE) India -- aims to establish a state-of-the-art innovation ecosystem.

The CoE will focus on emerging domains including 5G/6G communications, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR/VR), quantum computing, healthcare, and other frontier technologies.

Scindia cited that India's digital infrastructure has seen remarkable growth due to the policies rolled out by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Eleven years ago, we had 250 million internet users. Today, we have over 974 million internet subscribers and 940 million broadband users. We're building the world's largest optical fibre network -- an invisible digital highway that will visibly transform 140 crore lives,” the Union Minister said.

He also reflected on India's evolution from a software services hub to a product innovation powerhouse.

“We once imported 90 per cent of our mobile phones. Today, India is exporting mobile phones worth over Rs 2.5 lakh crore, including to the US. It's time we move from being the world's back office to becoming its innovation engine,” Scindia said.

The new Centre aims to be a launchpad for deep-tech research and startup incubation, powered by a robust academia-industry partnership.

With over 20 startups and 30 academic institutions already on board, the ecosystem is set to drive innovation at scale. The initiative is also supported by leading tech firms including Keysight Technologies, QpiAI, Televerge, etc. Skill development efforts are being guided by the Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC).

Scindia also emphasised the larger policy shift ushered in by PM Modi.

“In the last 11 years, PM Modi has fundamentally redefined the role of government -- from a regulator to a facilitator. This Centre is a direct extension of that transformation,” he said.

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