'$2bn coming for telecom manufacturing'

Communications and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran today said that fresh investment commitments of about $2 billion  (about Rs 9,000 crore) were expected to flow into the country in the next one year.

Addressing the India Telecom 2006, Maran said: "Nokia's entry into manufacturing, followed by Flextronics, Motorola and a whole lot of others, has laid the platform for positioning India as a global hub for telecom manufacturing.

"Our skilled manpower is matchless. The telecom equipment sector where ratio of hardware and software is almost equal is set to reap the benefit of India's expertise in software."

According to Maran, target set for 2010 would result in an investment of about $20 billion with more jobs, contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) and revenue to the government.