Who Made India’s First Mobile Call? The ₹8-a-Minute Moment That Changed Everything

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It’s been 29 years since India’s very first mobile phone call, a moment that kicked off the country’s telecom revolution and changed the way we connect forever.

Key Highlights:

Date of the Historic Call: July 31, 1995.
Who Made the Call: The first call was made by West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu from the Writer’s Building in Kolkata to Union Communications Minister Sukh Ram at Sanchar Bhavan in New Delhi.
The Phone Used: The call was made using a Nokia mobile phone, likely one of the early Nokia models available at the time.
The Network: The service was provided by Modi Telstra’s MobileNet, a joint venture between India’s B.K. Modi Group and Australia’s Telstra.
Cost of the Call: The call cost ₹8.4 per minute for both incoming and outgoing calls. During peak hours, the cost could rise to ₹16.8 per minute—a far cry from today’s nearly free calling.
Why It Mattered: This single call marked the start of mobile telephony in India, paving the way for the massive telecom boom that followed. The industry has since grown to become the world’s second-largest by number of subscribers.
Fun Fact: Back then, mobile phones themselves were luxury items, costing upwards of ₹40,000—more than ₹2 lakh in today’s money.

From that expensive, groundbreaking call to today’s affordable, data-driven mobile world, India’s telecom journey has been nothing short of remarkable.

Source: India.com, News24Online, News18, Hindustan Times