<span style="color: #222222;">Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Apurva Chandra today said the convergence between Direct-to-Mobile and 5G Broadband will improve consumption of broadband and utilisation of spectrum in India. He was speaking at a Conclave on "Direct-to-Mobile & 5G Broadband Convergence Roadmap for India" organised by IIT Kanpur and TSDSI at All India Radio in Delhi.<br />''<br />''He said India has one of the largest mobile data numbers in the world. He termed it as a success of India's telecom operators that they have been able to provide one of the cheapest data in the world in India.<br />''<br />''He said almost everybody now is consuming video content through their mobiles. He said news can be seen on mobile through Apps, and even Prasar Bharati has its own Newsonair App which has a large consumer base.<br />''<br />''The Secretary said this convergence between Direct-to-Mobile and 5G Broadband will be a very huge change for the consumers. He added that this will entail some change in infrastructure and some regulatory changes.<br />''<br />''The Conclave was also attended by Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati and other senior officials of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.<br />''<br />''Speaking at the event, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati said Direct to Mobile can put India ahead of the curve. He said consumers today want everything on a common device and they do not want silos of hardware in their homes.<br />''<br />''Mr Vempati said Direct to Mobile and Broadcast & 5G Broadband Convergence has the potential to reach everyone during a crisis like COVID pandemic. He added that Ukraine situation has proved that sovereign nations cannot be at the mercy of third-party platforms.</span><br />