PTI

Call drops have reduced by 60, Communications Minister Manoj Sinha said on Tuesday. "In the last four months, data shows that call drops have come down by 60%," Sinha said on the sidelines of "Building ICT - Infrastructure: Connect the Unconnected", organised by industry chamber CII. He also added that in the coming days, the situation will only improve as there is no such scarcity of spectrum availability.

Sinha also tried to allay fears on the impact of mobile tower radiation on human health, saying so far global studies have not been able to find out any health hazard due to tower emissions. The Supreme Court, in a recent order, had asked a mobile tower to be shut down within seven days after a petitioner claimed radiation from the tower had given him cancer.

The minister also said that information and communication technology (ICT) connectivity is a key factor for a diverse country like India for creating an inclusive society and fostering holistic development, and emphasised the government's commitment for creating a strong ICT infrastructure and bridging the digital divide in rural and urban India.

He mentioned about government's conducive policy and administrative measures including facilitation of spectrum sharing and trading, Right of Way (RoW) policy, creating optic fiber networks, mobile infrastructure and shared mobile towers. Sinha also talked about the need for deploying eco-friendly infrastructure and using renewable energy for sustainable growth and development of this sector. He urged the telecom industry to upgrade mobile networks.