The government has immediately dissolved its apex decision-making body for telecom and digital communication - the Digital Communications Commission (DCC). According to reports from The Times of India, ETTelecom, NDTV, and Catch News, the communication ministry's department of telecommunication (DoT) notified this decision through a September 19, 2026 resolution that was published in the Gazette of India. The commission was originally established as the telecom commission in 1989 before being renamed to its current form in 2018. The 37-year-old institutional structure ceased to exist after the September 19 resolution, marking the end of a significant chapter in India's telecom regulatory history. As per NDTV, the dissolution notification stated that "the Government of India has decided that the Digital Communications Commission be dissolved. Now, therefore, with effect from the date of publication of this resolution, the Digital Communications Commission shall stand dissolved."
The dissolution represents a significant change in India's telecom regulatory framework, as reported by The Times of India, ETTelecom, NDTV, and Catch News. The Digital Communications Commission served as the apex decision-making body for telecom and digital communication sectors, making this move a substantial shift in how telecom policy and regulatory decisions are handled in the country. The DCC functioned as the Department of Telecommunications' apex inter-departmental decision-making forum, dealing with matters such as spectrum pricing, large projects and recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). According to NDTV, the Commission comprised senior officials from NITI Aayog, the Finance Ministry, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion and other departments to help resolve contentious issues. The DCC's purpose was to bring multiple departments into the same decision-making process before important telecom proposals were sent to the Union Cabinet, particularly useful when policies had financial, technical and regulatory implications at the same time.
The DCC's last meeting was held on September 3, where it approved most of TRAI's recommendations on administrative allocation and pricing of satellite communication spectrum. As per The Times of India, ETTelecom, NDTV, and Catch News, the Commission was chaired by the Telecom Secretary and included senior officials from the Department of Telecommunications as well as representatives from bodies and ministries including NITI Aayog and the Finance Ministry. The DCC's purpose was to bring multiple departments into the same decision-making process before important telecom proposals were sent to the Union Cabinet, particularly useful when policies had financial, technical and regulatory implications at the same time. The Commission helped in taking decisions on matters like spectrum price and recommendations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, with the DCC's recommendation on satcom spectrum now having to be approved by the cabinet. The DCC had approved most of the recommendations made by TRAI, including those on key telecom matters, before its dissolution.
Following the DCC's dissolution, final decisions within the Department will increasingly be taken by the Telecom Secretary, with approvals from the Communications Minister and Cabinet where necessary. According to The Times of India, projects of up to ₹100 crore can be cleared by the Telecom Secretary and those of up to ₹500 crore by the minister. Proposals in the ₹500 crore to ₹1,000 crore range that earlier went through the DCC are expected to be routed through the Expenditure Finance Committee before reaching the Cabinet. The Expenditure Finance Committee is an inter-ministerial mechanism under the Finance Ministry that examines government proposals carrying significant expenditure, bringing telecom proposals into a broader government expenditure-review process. As reported by Catch News, the DCC's decision on satcom spectrum is now awaiting Cabinet approval, highlighting the current transition period.
The timing of the dissolution is significant as India approaches opening commercial satellite broadband services, with Elon Musk-led Starlink, Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb and Reliance Industries' Jio Satellite Communications already receiving permission to offer satellite communication services. However, these companies cannot begin commercial operations until spectrum is allocated and remaining security clearances are completed. The DCC's final major decision involved TRAI's recommendation of a minimum annual spectrum charge of ₹3,500 per MHz and an additional ₹500 per urban subscriber, while proposing no equivalent additional levy for rural customers. Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has indicated that newer structures are intended to remove physical and administrative constraints that made older systems less responsive, with the key question being whether the new arrangement speeds up decisions without weakening inter-ministerial scrutiny.
