India dissolves digital communications commission after 37 years, shifting sector decision-making to cabinet

India has abolished the Digital Communications Commission, ending a long-standing telecom decision-making body and centralising sector policies within the cabinet, signalling a significant shift in regulatory governance.

India has dissolved the Digital Communications Commission, ending a telecoms decision-making body that had operated for almost 37 years. Local media reported that the Department of Telecommunications issued a resolution giving the move immediate effect, marking a significant change in how the country handles policy issues with major financial implications across telecoms and digital communications.

The commission was created in April 1989 as the Telecom Commission and was renamed in October 2018 under the National Digital Communications Policy, according to reports from Indian outlets. It brought together senior officials from the finance ministry, NITI Aayog, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and other departments, giving it a central role in resolving difficult sectoral issues, including spectrum pricing and the implementation of Department of Telecommunications recommendations.

Its final meeting took place on 3 September, when it approved a proposal on satellite spectrum allocation for Starlink, Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Jio Satellite Communications. According to reports citing the government resolution, that proposal has now been sent onwards to the cabinet for consideration.

Some reports suggest the winding-up may also reflect a wider tightening of financial oversight, with high-value project approvals expected to move to a different committee structure. The dissolution, first published in the Gazette of India, closes a long-running institutional chapter in telecom governance and shifts the centre of gravity for major sector decisions back towards the cabinet and other fiscal review mechanisms.