<ul data-eligibleForWebStory="false"><li>Indian telecom operators oppose using Digital Bharat Nidhi for R&D, stating it deviates from the fund's original purpose of supporting rural telecom infrastructure.</li><li>The Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) Fund is primarily funded by a levy on telecom service providers' revenue, with 5% allocated for R&D, benefiting public entities like IITs.</li><li>Concerns raised by COAI include lack of direct benefits to telecom operators from R&D allocations and transparency issues in fund disbursement.</li><li>Telcos call for fair distribution of R&D funds among all qualified institutions and access to intellectual property rights from DBN-funded projects.</li></ul>

Telcos Oppose Use of Digital Bharat Nidhi for R&D, Cite Deviation from Core Objective: Report

Discover more