Maran invites global telcos to India

NEW DELHI: Minister of communications and IT Dayanidhi Maran has invited telecom manufacturers world over to look towards India as an attractive destination for establishing their units and to make it a hub not only for domestic supplies, but also for servicing other countries of the region. Maran stated this while speaking on the theme "Mobile Communication as Driver for Social Development and Economic Growth" at the Third GSM World Congress at Cannes in France.






Maran said that though India has allowed 100 percent FDI in the manufacturing sector, it has not lead to expected growth. "To surpass the target of providing 250 million telephone connections over the next three years, the country has to reduce dependence on imports," he added. He assured the international community that India's fiscal, taxation and trade policies will be in tune with the expectations of the telecom manufacturers to achieve the objectives.





Speaking about the progress made by India in telecom sector, the Minister said that India has more than 90 million telephone subscribers with a tele-density of around 8.62 percent. A target of providing 250 million telephone connections by the year 2007 has been set. A target of three million broadband subscribers and six million Internet subscribers is planned to be achieved by December 2005.





Maran said that foreign direct investment (FDI) in telecom has been encouraging with more than $two billion already invested in the sector. India has also set up an independent and effective telecom regulator and an Appellate Tribunal to redress the grievances to sort out disputes in the telecom sector.





Maran also assured the global telecom operators that India would soon come out with a spectrum policy, which will be technology-neutral, in tune with the established policy and international practices. "Likewise, India is looking forward to introduce 3G services and watching the developments and deployments of 3G networks in other countries," he added.





Speaking about future the of telecom sector in India, Maran said, "We see vibrant competition, increased affordability, enhanced rollout and coverage, higher rural traffic, lower roaming charges, next generation services, as growth drivers for the future". He further added that efficiency of spectrum and sharing of infrastructure would also help in overtaking the present inhibitors of low Average Revenue Per Users and higher infrastructure cost.