Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that India needs to develop strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics and telecommunications
Inaugurating the 'India Telecom 2013', here, Dr. Singh said: "I would also like to take today's opportunity to repeat a point that I made last year. India needs to develop a strong domestic manufacturing base in electronics and telecommunications. It is estimated that by 2020, India will be importing electronics products worth about 300 billion dollars, which will be more than the value of our imports of petroleum products."
"We need to act now to avoid a situation where we face difficulties in financing these huge imports. India should have manufacturing facilities which result in a balanced trade in electronics products and are a part of global supply chains. I am happy that the Department of Information Technology is working to create an ecosystem favourable for the growth of electronics manufacturing activities in our country," he added.
Asserting that our government remains committed to facilitating further growth of the telecom sector, Dr. Singh said: "During the last two years, we have taken a number of steps in this direction. A new policy regime, the National Telecom Policy 2012, was announced last year, bringing clarity on a number of complex issues. We have attempted to simplify the licensing regime, and to ensure adequate availability of spectrum for provision of telecom services and its allocation in a transparent manner through market-related processes."
" I understand that the Department of Telecommunications has already started issuing unified licenses and will also shortly issue the merger and acquisition guidelines. We have raised the foreign direct investment limit in the telecommunications sector from 74 percent to 100 percent. I am confident that all these measures will go a long way in addressing the concerns of investors and provide a new impetus to the growth of telecommunications industry in our country," he added.
Dr. Singh further said: "With a rural tele-density of just over 40 percent, there are millions of people in our rural economy whose lives still remain untouched by the telecom revolution.
"And this is a challenge that should worry all of us and we must have determination to grapple with it effectively. This deficit is further magnified when it comes to Internet connectivity. On a per capita basis, the usage of the Internet is quite low in India. Both the availability and the reliability of Internet services outside the major cities leave much to be desired," he added.
Stating that the urgent need for measures to bridge the rural-urban divide in the area of telecommunications, Dr. Singh said: "This divide should not become a source of added disparity in our society. On the contrary, we should leverage the immense potential of the telecommunications to reduce the socio-economic disparities that presently exist in our country. I believe that this can be done in a variety of ways."
" For example, by combining a mobile phone with mobile banking, one can achieve the objective of financial inclusion at a very low cost. The Reserve Bank of India is already working on making this possible using the Aadhaar identity framework. Similarly, combining a computer with 3G connectivity can revolutionize the delivery of education," he said.
"Students can learn the subject of their choice from quality teachers without leaving the place of their residence. I am told that the Telecom Commission is working on such possibilities and I wish them all success in this noble endeavour," he added.
Stressing that our Government is alive to the need for expansion of telecom services in the rural areas, Dr. Singh said: " One of the key objectives of the National Telecom Policy 2012 is to increase rural tele-density to 70 percent by the year 2017 and 100 percent by the year 2020. The Policy also recognizes telecom and broadband connectivity as a basic necessity and aims to provide reliable and affordable broadband access to rural and remote areas in our country."
"A scheme to extend financial support from the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund for providing mobile communication services in 56000 uncovered villages of our country is on the anvil. This scheme will give priority to the uncovered villages of the North Easten sector," he said.
"We have also approved a scheme for installing mobile towers at about 2200 locations in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) at an estimated cost of about Rs. 3000 crore. This too will be financed by the USO Fund," he added.
