Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday said the Indian economy will grow from $2.5 trillion to over $7 trillion in the next 10 years to rank among the top three economies in the world.

Reliance’s jio

Speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2017 in New Delhi, Ambani added that data is the “new oil”, and India does not need to import it as the country’s mobile data market is unparalleled in the world. He also said 4G coverage will expand in the next 12 months and overtake 2G usage in the country. Reliance’s mobile network operator Jio recently entered the telecom market, providing 4G data services at minimal costs.

The first edition of the three-day industry event, organised by the Department of Telecom, kicked off on Wednesday with Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha inaugurating it at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. It is a forum for mobile, internet and technology companies. In his address, Ambani pitched for every Indian to be given access to data, and investing in creating next generation technology and forging partnerships in the field.

India Mobile Congress

Apart from Ambani, Bharti Enterprises chairman Sunil Mittal, Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao were also present at the event. Representatives from the government, including Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan and IT secretary Ajay Prakash Sawhney attended as well.

“We want to organise India Mobile Congress every year. Also we expect that it will emerge as a global event in years to come,” Sinha quoted as saying by PTI ahead of the event. “We are proud to say that our country is now hosting its own first ever mobile, internet and technology, the India Mobile Congress. And we are hopeful that this will be a huge platform for mobile and internet technology sector in the sub-continent.”

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