Gurgaon, Sep 15: The Digital Infrastructure Providers Association (DIPA), following its Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 15 September 2026, has announced the appointment of Munish Seth, Group Managing Director, Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust, as Chairman of DIPA, and Venkatesh Tiwari, Chief Operating Officer, Indus Towers Limited, as Vice Chairman of DIPA.
Manoj Kumar Singh, Director General, DIPA, said “We are pleased to have Munish Seth take on the responsibility of Chairman of DIPA, alongside Venkatesh Tiwari as Vice Chairman. Their collective experience across digital infrastructure, telecommunications, technology and large-scale operations will further strengthen DIPA’s ability to engage constructively with Government, regulators and industry stakeholders.”
India’s digital economy today contributes nearly 12 to 14 percent of the country’s GDP, and this share is projected to rise to 20 percent over the next decade. We have emerged as the world’s fifth largest digitalised economy and rank as the fourth highest among G20 nations. The scale of this transformation is reflected across every metric that matters. Telephone connections have grown from 93.3 crore in 2014 to over 134.8 crore by June 2026, while tele-density has risen from 75.23 percent to 94.31 percent in the same period. Active wireless mobile subscribers now stand at 1,201.06 million as of June 2026. Internet subscribers have grown from 25.15 crore in 2014 to over 109.2 crore by March 2026, and this growth has been made possible in large part by the dramatic fall in data costs, from ₹308 per GB in 2014 to just ₹7.51 per GB today. Mobile broadband speeds have kept pace as well, with average download speeds rising from 13.67 Mbps in March 2022 to 132 Mbps by December 2025, according to Ookla’s global speedtest index.
Mr. Singh, Director General, Digital Infrastructure Providers Association, further said: “At DIPA, we take particular pride in the role our member companies have played in building the physical backbone of this revolution. Our digital infrastructure providers have installed 8,59,663 telecom towers across the country, enabling 5G services to reach 99.9 percent of districts in every state and union territory. The number of 5G base transceiver stations has now crossed 5.63 lakh as of June 2026, and 6.31 lakh villages have been brought under 4G coverage through the efforts of BSNL and other operators. These numbers are not just statistics, they represent a connected India that is more inclusive, more productive, and better positioned for the future.”
The appointments mark a new leadership chapter for the association as India’s digital infrastructure ecosystem enters a period of rapid technological and structural change. The new leadership brings extensive experience across telecommunications, technology, digital platforms and large-scale operations, strengthening DIPA’s ability to represent industry perspectives and engage constructively with policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders.
Munish Seth, Chairman, DIPA is the Group Managing Director of Altius Telecom Infrastructure Trust. A seasoned telecom and technology leader, Mr. Seth has served as the director and regional head at Google India Private Limited and Meta Platform Inc respectively. He also served as the President and Managing Director at Alcatel Lucent India Limited.
With experience spanning telecommunications, technology and digital platforms, Mr. Seth brings a strong understanding of India’s evolving digital ecosystem to his role as Chairman of DIPA. As Chairman, Mr. Seth will support DIPA’s continued efforts to strengthen industry representation, policy engagement and collaboration across the digital infrastructure ecosystem.
Venkatesh Tiwari, Vice Chairman, DIPA is the Chief Operating Officer at Indus Towers Limited, with nearly 28 years of leadership experience spanning telecommunications, e-commerce, consumer electronics and logistics. Prior to joining Indus Towers, Mr. Tiwari spent over eight years at Amazon India, where he served as Director – Operations and played a key role in building and scaling large-scale fulfilment and logistics capabilities. His experience also includes leadership roles at Samsung, Bharti Airtel and Perfetti, giving him a broad cross-industry perspective and deep operational expertise. As Vice Chairman of DIPA, Mr. Tiwari will contribute to strengthening the association’s industry engagement and its efforts to address key operational and policy priorities impacting the digital infrastructure sector. Under the new leadership, DIPA will continue to focus on strengthening its engagement with Government, regulators and industry stakeholders, with emphasis on policy certainty, ease of infrastructure deployment, sustainable growth and effective implementation of reforms across the country.
The leadership transition comes at a time when the digital infrastructure landscape continues to expand beyond traditional telecom networks, with 5G, fibre, AI, IoT, data-driven applications and emerging digital technologies creating new requirements for infrastructure that can scale efficiently and sustainably.