The Hindu Business Line : Invest in telecom infrastructure, Maran urges US cos

STAYING with the theme of continuity of reforms and stressing that the "culture is very good for investments", the Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, called on potential investors in the area of telecom infrastructure to take a good look at the existing and emerging opportunities in India, particularly in the context of the relatively unexplored rural market.

In a precise and detailed presentation to delegates participating in the India Investment Forum organised by Euromoney Institutional Investor and hosted by Merrill Lynch and the State Bank of India Group, Mr Maran said that India did indeed have a long way to go in achieving the laid out objectives, but there was no question in the determination of moving in that direction.

"Why don't you invest in India and help us realise our dream?" Mr Maran remarked during the course of his address. The realisation of the objectives comes with a price tag of more than $20 billion (around Rs 91,720 crore) in investment and where "foreign investment will be a key source of this capital," the Minister said.

Tracing the growth and the reform path undertaken in the realm of telecom, Mr Maran emphasised that "all" stakeholders have played an important role in this success story with the Government for its part ensuring that there was a stable foreign investment policy and in the successful implementation of the various regulatory changes.

In a kind of presentation that went down well with the participants, the Union Minister pointed to the dramatic transformation that has been witnessed in India - from a monopoly of service providers to a competitive regime with multiple players from the public and private sectors and spread over the service segments.

From the time of having no regulators in the business, the Minister pointed to the current existence of an independent and active regulator and appellate tribunal that had the frameworks for dispute settlements in an amicable fashion.

"The reforms are here to stay in India" with the commitment from the Government to provide the right policy, Mr Maran stressed going on to make the point that the objective of providing 200 million telephone connections by 2007 will be realised. "Our government is committed to reforms and what the previous governments have done will stay," Mr Maran said during the interactive session.

In spite of the dramatic growth in the telecom sector, there is still enough room for a few more operators, Mr Maran pointed out even while making the point that the rural areas of India are by far the untapped potential markets. "The war is going to shift to the rural areas," Mr Maran maintained.

Aside from the stable investment climate that has contributed to the forward movement in the telecom sector, Mr Maran also argued that the Government had taken a number of proactive steps in the past, including sensible policies on pricing and for the future this Government was committed to providing the "right policy framework" for sustaining the momentum.

And the Minister said that a number of changes are being considered such as increase in foreign ownership limits; reduction of regulatory charges, unified licensing; spectrum policy and the revamping of the National Telecom Policy.

Referring to the Unctad's World Investment Report of 2004 that talked of India being the fourth largest destination for foreign investment in the fast growing region of Asia, Mr Maran spoke of the "aggressive aspirations" to realise the potential — apart from the 200 million telephone users, both wireless and wireline, by 2007, the Minister referred to the objective of 40 million Internet users and 20 million broadband users by 2010.

Later at a luncheon address to the India America Chamber of Commerce of New York at the Consulate-General of India here Mr Maran stressed that while there may have been disagreements between governments in the country, policies and commitments are always honoured and in a mature country like India there is no oscillation in the realm of policies.

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