Big news from New Delhi: India has leaped four notches to 45th place in the 2025 Network Readiness Index, with its score rising to 54.43. This milestone, revealed by the government, celebrates India’s edge in digital infrastructure amid global competition.
The Portulans Institute’s comprehensive report assesses 127 countries using 53 indicators across technology, human capital, governance, and societal impact. India’s improvements signal a maturing digital economy.
Leading the pack, India excels in yearly telecom spends, AI scholarly output, IT service exports, and digital commerce regulations. Second-place finishes came in fiber optics, in-country mobile internet, and global bandwidth capacity; third in market size and disparity indices.
Outshining its economic bracket, India stands second in network readiness for lower-middle-income nations, a clear win for inclusive digitization efforts.
Echoing this, Minister Scindia touted the cheapest global data driving peak usage for 1.2 billion users. 4G saturation in villages is imminent, backed by BSNL’s 97,068 sites (93,511 live) transitioning to 5G.
Nationwide 5G deployment hits 99.9% district coverage with 5.08 lakh BTS. Private and public telecoms have woven a resilient web, from cities to countrysides.
As India redefines digital access, the NRI 2025 underscores its trajectory toward top-tier global standing, fueled by innovation and execution.