In one telling of the history of India’s telecom revolution, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sam Pitroda laid its foundations back in the 1980s. In October 2015, India hit the billion mark for its mobile phone subscriber base, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) data. It’s a telling comparison—and the manner in which it maps to India’s economic growth post-liberalization in 1991 is not a coincidence. One, India’s evolution to a digital economy will depend on smartphone penetration, not fixed line. Will data wars be good for the Indian market?

Source: Mint January 25, 2017 20:41 UTC