India Mobile Congress 2026: Inside the 4-day tech event starting Wednesday

The 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) will begin in New Delhi on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to inaugurate the four-day event on October 8.

The conference and exhibition will be held at Yashobhoomi from October 7 to 10. This year’s theme is “Scale Without Boundaries”, with telecom operators, technology companies, startups and policymakers set to discuss developments in connectivity and digital technology.

Although the formal inauguration will take place on the second day, the conference programme will get underway on October 7 with speakers from the government, technology and telecom sectors.

What is on the agenda?

The opening day will feature Lauren Dreyer, vice-president of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX, and Hideo Fuseda, vice-minister for international affairs at Japan’s ministry of internal affairs and communications.

Minister of state for communications Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, Department of Telecommunications (DoT) Secretary Amit Agrawal and C-DOT chief executive Rajkumar Upadhyay are also scheduled to address sessions.

Representatives from Qualcomm, GSMA, Ericsson, Jio, Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Intel will participate in discussions covering next-generation networks, artificial intelligence, 6G, digital infrastructure and satellite communications.

October 8 will begin with PM Modi’s inauguration. Reliance Jio chairman Akash Ambani, Bharti Enterprises founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal and Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla are among the industry leaders expected to deliver keynotes.

The day is also expected to feature government announcements, partnerships and discussions on investment and business opportunities in telecom and digital technology.

6G, AI and satellite technology in focus

The programme will continue with sessions on 6G, AI-native telecom networks, intelligent RAN, cybersecurity, satellite communications, network APIs, cloud and edge computing, semiconductors and digital infrastructure.

GSMA will hold sessions on areas including digital trust, satellite communications policy and AI-native telecom networks, as well as the shift from connectivity towards broader digital infrastructure.

Alongside the conference, the Yashobhoomi exhibition will run throughout the four-day event. Participating companies will showcase technologies and live use cases covering 5G and 6G, AI, semiconductors, satellite communications, cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, and cloud and edge computing.

Startups get deep-tech push

Startups will feature prominently through the ASPIRE programme, which is placing greater emphasis this year on deep-tech and frontier technologies. The programme aims to help startups move from prototypes towards market opportunities and investment.

The 2026 edition marks the 10th IMC and is jointly organised by the DoT and the Cellular Operators Association of India.