PM Modi Calls for Global Framework to Combat Cyber Fraud, Deepfakes

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for a global framework to tackle cyber frauds and deepfakes, saying digital threats have crossed national boundaries and require coordinated action by all stakeholders.

Mr. Modi made the appeal while inaugurating the tenth edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026 on Thursday (October 8, 2026).

He said governments, technology companies, telecom operators and financial institutions should work together to create mechanisms that can curb digital frauds.

Modi seeks a mechanism before fraud reaches people

“I urge the GSMA and telecom operators across the world: come, let us create a global mechanism that can stop such fraud before it reaches the people,” Mr. Modi said.

He said India had learnt a lot from its experiences in this direction and was ready to share those experiences with the world.

Mr. Modi also said technology could achieve scale only when it gained people’s trust.

Explaining the cross-border nature of digital crime, he said a person sitting in one country, with the help of a person in another country, could commit a crime in a third country.

He added that deepfakes had become a big challenge.

The Prime Minister’s remarks linked the need for international coordination to the way digital fraud and digitally enabled crimes can involve people and systems across different countries.

The proposed global mechanism, as described by Mr. Modi, would involve telecom operators across the world along with the wider group of stakeholders responsible for technology, communications and financial transactions.

India targets 1 bn 5G users by 2030

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said India aims to double its 5G user base from 550 million to one billion by 2030.

He said India, which was behind the world in 4G, was resolved to lead the world in 6G.

The Bharat 6G Alliance has 90 institutions involved with it and has established 7,700 patents, of which 4,400 are international, Mr. Scindia said.

“We were behind the world in 4G. We marched with the world on 5G. But it is our resolve that we will lead the world on 6G,” he said.

Mr. Scindia also said the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council had accepted India’s proposal to host the Plenipotentiary Conference in 2030.

He noted that the ITU’s World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA) was held in India for the first time in 2024.

Mr. Scindia described it as the largest WTSA held outside Geneva in the history of the ITU.

Broadband expansion and lower data costs

Tracing India’s telecom journey since the first IMC in September 2017, Mr. Scindia said the number of broadband customers had grown from 60 million to over 1.1 billion.

The country now has 1.35 billion mobile customers, he said.

The cost of 1 GB of data has fallen from ₹268 in 2014 to ₹8 now, which Mr. Scindia described as the cheapest in the world.

He also spoke about digital public infrastructure and said UPI accounts for 84% of digital transactions in India.

According to the minister, 49% of the world’s digital transactions take place in India.

UPI processes 260 billion transactions a year worth $3.4 trillion, and the technology has been taken to 11 other countries, he said.

These figures formed part of the government’s account of the expansion of India’s digital and telecom infrastructure as the country seeks a larger role in future communications technologies.

BharatNet and mobile manufacturing

Mr. Scindia said the $15 billion government-funded BharatNet programme would provide middle-mile connectivity to close to 2.6 lakh gram panchayats.

The programme would also give on-demand connectivity to the remaining 3.8 lakh villages, with a 100 Mbps connection to every home as demanded by citizens, he said.

On manufacturing, the minister said the mobile phone industry was worth about USD 2-3 billion in 2014 and had now become a USD 63 billion industry.

India is now the world’s second-largest mobile phone producer, while exports are close to $29 billion, according to Mr. Scindia.

The government’s telecom expansion and manufacturing figures were presented alongside the call for international safeguards, as India seeks to scale digital technologies while addressing frauds, deepfakes and other digital crimes.

Source: The Hindu