Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia Inaugurates VTU‑VRIF‑TCOE Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

In July 2025, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Madhavrao (M.) Scindia, holding portfolios for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), officially inaugurated the VTU‑VRIF‑TCOE Hub & Spoke Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Visvesvaraya Technological University’s (VTU) regional campus in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

      - The CoE is a strategic tripartite collaboration between VTU, the Visvesvaraya Research & Innovation Foundation (VRIF), and Telecom Centres of Excellence (TCOE) India aimed at fostering innovation in frontier technologies. Spanning over 100,000 sq ft and connecting 218 institutions under VTU with a network of over 400,000 students and 20,000+ PhD researchers, it focuses on areas such as 5G/6G communications, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), augmented/virtual reality (AR/VR), quantum computing, healthcare tech, and advanced manufacturing.

      - During the inauguration on 10 July 2025, Minister Scindia highlighted Bengaluru’s transformation into a global deep-tech hub, stating that India’s broadband users have surged from 250 million to over 974 million, and that the Centre will serve as “a generation of thinkers, builders, and leaders” driving India’s shift from service-based to product innovation.

      - The hub supports 20+ startups, 30+ academic partners, and industry leaders like Keysight Technologies, QpiAI, and Televerge, with skill-building led by the Telecom Sector Skill Council (TSSC).

Main Point :-   (i) Alongside the inauguration, Jyotiraditya Madhavrao (M.) Scindia oversaw a progress review of the Bharat 6G Alliance (B6GA) with Dr. Neeraj Mittal, Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The Alliance, which now includes 80 member organisations—over 30 startups, academia, public institutions, and global partners—shared updates on key R&D fronts like indigenous Radio Access Networks (RAN), rural connectivity, AI-integrated networks, and smart cross-sector 6G applications in domains like agriculture and healthcare.

      (ii) Scindia reaffirmed India’s ambitious target of securing 10 % of global 6G patents by 2030, calling for robust policy support, research funding, timely spectrum allocation, and frequent monitoring of Alliance working groups.

(iii) These initiatives are powered by the Bharat 6G Vision Document (released March 2023) and funded in part by the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF), which has supported over 120 R&D proposals with ₹500 crore, including 100 for 6G, with ₹180 crore already disbursed.This reflects a growing synergy between India’s academic institutions, startups, and public-private partners to build a resilient and indigenous telecom ecosystem.