14/01/2026
Speaker: Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman Board, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT)
Abstract: Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is playing a pivotal role in accelerating India’s digital and socio- economic transformation by making public services more accessible, efficient, and inclusive. The session will underline that DPI should be seen not just as a set of digital tools, but as a foundational framework for nation-building. A key focus will be on the necessity of indigenizing core digital technologies to reduce external dependency, enhance cybersecurity, and strengthen domestic intellectual property in an increasingly uncertain global environment. The session will outline how the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) continues to support contemporary DPI needs through advanced telecom solutions, secure network architectures, and next-generation digital infrastructure aligned with national initiatives such as “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. The session will emphasize the need for deeper collaboration among policymakers, academia, and industry, with institutions such as IIM Ahmedabad positioned to advance leadership and innovation essential for achieving India’s digitally sovereign and inclusive future.
About the Speaker: Dr Rajkumar Upadhyay is an officer of the Indian Telecommunication Services (ITS) of the Government of India and is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier R&D Centre of the Ministry of Communications, Government of India.
Prior to this engagement, his assignments included Additional Director General & Head of South India in Prasar Bharati, Deputy Director General in the Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, and Advisor to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). He also worked as a Scientist in the Defence Research & Development Organization, Ministry of Defence.
Dr Upadhyay is a Senior IEEE member. He is a member of the IEEE Collaborative Activities Governance Board (CAG). He also serves as thematic lead of the Expert Network of the Digital Innovation Board of ITU. He is a founding and Governing Council (GC) Member of ‘Bharat 6G Alliance’ and steering committee member of the apex council of ‘Bharat 6G mission’ formed by the Government of India. Dr Upadhyay is the co-chair of the Quantum Communication Hub under the National Quantum Mission and also the chairman of the task force for quantum migration in the country. He is a member of the Apex Committee under the State Quantum Mission under the “Quantum Valley” initiative launched by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. He is also a member of the Technical Advisory Committee of C-DAC.
He is a governing council member of the IETE, Telecom Centre of Excellence (TCOE), and an Executive Council member of the Broadband India Forum (BIF). He is also a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)’s National Committee on Electronics manufacturing and National Committee on Telecom and Broadband, TSDSI Standing Committee on Standardization & Transposition and has been the Chairman TSDSI Outreach Committee.
He has been the Chairman of the working group on ‘Policy and Regulation for South Asian Regulators Council (SATRC) during 2011-12, the Chairperson of the Global Standards Symposium of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) held at WTSA in New Delhi in October 2024.
Dr Upadhyay holds Ph.D. in Corporate Strategy & Policy and an MBA from IIM Bangalore & MTech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee. He is the winner of several awards, including J.C. Bose award by the Ministry of Defence, the National e-Governance award by the Government of India, the CIO 100 award by International Data Group (IDG), Deepak C. Jain Award by IIM Bangalore. During his tenure at Prasar Bharati, he received several awards in the name of the organization. Under his leadership in C-DOT, the organization has received numerous prestigious recognitions, including two awards from ITU, the Deendayal Upadhyay Award from DoT, the Telecom Person of the Year award, and the Path Breaker of the Year award from Voice and Data. Dr Upadhyay has authored various papers in journals and articles in magazines and has delivered Lectures at the International Telecom Union (ITU) and premier institutes.
