1995: Mobile services come calling

Two politicians - West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and Union Communications Minister Sukh Ram - were the first official users of cellphones in India. Basu called up Ram on July 31, 1995, to inaugurate India's first cellular service (Modi Telstra, in Calcutta). But neither the politicians nor the industry foresaw the telecommunication revolution in the coming years.

Mobile telephony took time to spread in India because of high tariffs (Rs 16 a minute, with even incoming calls being charged), and it took five years for the mobile subscriber base to reach five million. Intense competition among mobile operators gradually drove down rates which led to the boom. In the next 10 years, the mobile subscriber base shot up to 687.71 million.

Today, on an average, 17 million cellular connections are being added every month and over 200 million every year. The cellular subscriber base is projected to touch 1.159 billion in 2013 and by then some expect India to overtake China and become the world's largest provider of wireless connections.

Voice continues to dominate revenues, although text messages, Internet access, e-mail services, and access to social networking sites such as Facebook have also become popular. This trend is only set to accelerate with the rollout of 3G services.

Birla Succession
Barely 28 years old, Kumar Mangalam Birla found himself at the helm of the Rs 7,000-crore Aditya Birla Group after the demise of his father. The Birla scion had his task cut out. He had to manage the group's restructuring programme and also sustain its pace of growth. Today, the group is estimated to be well over Rs 1.30 lakh crore with operations in over 27 countries. And he is just 43 years old.

Internet in India
Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd had an Independence Day gift for the Indian public in 1995: Internet connectivity. The company, which handled India's overseas communications, announced the launch of the Gateway Internet Access Service. The service was initially made available in the four metros. People could access the Internet through the Department of Telecommunications' I-NET via leased lines or dial-up facilities. The pricing for individuals was Rs 5,000 for 250 hours, while for corporates it was Rs 15,000.
 
Did you know?
NSE overtook BSE as India's largest stock exchange in terms of volume of trade in October 1995.

Quote of the year China is so far ahead of India. There is no comparison. We have wasted 15 to 20 years talking about socialism, while China has gone ahead and developed its economy. Meghnad Desai, Professor, LSE