Barcelona [Spain], March 4 : Taking on the world stage at MWC Barcelona, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister for Communications, announced the dates for this year's India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, Asia's largest digital technology forum, set to take place from 7th - 10th October 2026 in New Delhi, India.
Organised by the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications, Government of India and the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), IMC 2026 will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, global enterprises, startups and investors from over 100 countries. As part of deeper collaboration, the GSMA Board will participate in IMC 2026, lending their global expertise and strengthening the forum's international reach.
In addition to this, IMC and GSMA also signed an MoU today, which will focus on strengthening strategic collaboration to enhance IMC 2026's global positioning, deepen international industry participation and align policy and technology dialogues with emerging global telecom priorities.
The partnership will centre on curating high-level leadership engagements, facilitating global CEO and board-level participation, enabling cross-border knowledge exchange and amplifying India's role in shaping next-generation telecom, digital infrastructure and connectivity frameworks.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister for Communications and Development in North East Region, Govt. of India, said, "India stands as the second-largest telecom market globally, connecting over 1.2 billion citizens, fastest 5G rollout in the world, average mobile data consumption grown nearly 400 times in ten years. India is among a small group of nations to develop its own indigenous, cloud-native 4G stack, upgradeable to 5G, positioning us not only as users of advanced networks, but as builders of them."
"It is emerging as a trusted global source for telecom products, platforms and solutions and as a technology partner to the world as a growth bed for innovation and a global AI and deep-tech destination. As India completes a decade of telecom transformation, India Mobile Congress also enters 10th edition, enabling global launches, startup discovery, partnerships and industry-government collaboration. IMC's journey mirrors India's own digital journey from connectivity to intelligence and from access to impact and this edition will showcase AI-native networks, smart industries, sovereign platforms, startup innovation and global partnerships," the minister said.
This year marks a significant milestone as the platform completes a decade of shaping India's digital and telecom ecosystem. The premier forum will bring together the brightest minds and leading innovators in the technology and telecommunications sectors. Announcing the dates, the Minister further unveiled that IMC 2026 is expected to attract over 150,000 attendees with participation from over 300 exhibitors and partners and showcase over 1500 technology use cases.
This year's edition aims to strengthen its position by showcasing use cases and innovations across Connectivity (5G & 6G), AI, Semiconductors, Electronics Manufacturing, Quantum Computing, Cybersecurity, Satellite communications, Deep-tech, Clean-tech, Smart Mobility, Industry 4.0 and Enterprise transformation.
Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA, said, "India has firmly established itself as a global telecom leader, not only through the scale and speed of its 5G rollout, but through its ambition in 6G, AI and digital innovation. Through our enhanced role at India Mobile Congress 2026, the GSMA is bringing its global network of operators and industry leaders together to deepen collaboration, share best practice and reinforce India's position at the centre of the global digital ecosystem."
Abhijit Kishore, Chairman, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said, "Right from its inception in 2017, India Mobile Congress has served as a crucial platform for dialog, collaboration and action, highlighting the pivotal role of technology and connectivity in nation building. It has grown significantly in stature and scale over the years and has become an active platform for knowledge sharing and thoughtful leadership. IMC stands today as the largest digital technology forum in Asia and strategic partnership with GSMA also represents a quantum leap for this year's edition."
The pioneering startup program of IMC, ASPIRE is expected to witness participation from 400+ startups, more than 300 investors, incubators, accelerators and VCs, over 700 1-2-1 investor meetings, along with mentorship workshops, live pitches, networking and partnerships. As IMC completes a decade, this edition will underscore its scale, institutional credibility and sustained industry impact. The edition is expected to feature more outcome-driven enterprise and operator engagement, stronger buyer-seller interactions and sharper startup-to-market linkages.
IMC 2026 will also place greater emphasis on deployment-ready technologies that are closer to adoption and scale, while global participation will move towards more structured collaboration and long-term partnerships.
The last edition of the India Mobile Congress, held in October 2025 witnessed over 150,000 attendees in the 4- day forum and participation from over 400 partners and exhibitors, from over 100 countries. The event also showcased more than 1600 technology use case scenarios, hosted more than 100 sessions in which over 800 distinguished global and Indian speakers participated.