The Hindu Business Line : `Made in India' tag hot among telecom equipment buyers

TELECOM service providers are increasingly going in for the `Made in India' tag when it comes to buying network equipment for offering telecom services, except mobile gear.

Of the Rs 14,000 crore worth of non-wireless telecom equipment sold in the market, local manufacturers accounted for nearly Rs 12,000 crore during 2003-04.

According to data available with the Department of Telecom, the biggest market for manufacturing units based in India is the switching equipment segment, which is estimated to be around Rs 3,500 crore.

Of this, local manufacturers managed to get orders worth Rs 2,600 crore, while the rest was imported.

In transmission equipment market like radio relay system, which is estimated to be around Rs 2,500 crore.

Of this, local manufacturers managed to get orders worth Rs 2,174 crore compared to imports worth Rs 326 crore.

Industry has said that the numbers show that the Indian telecom manufacturing sector is maturing.

Mr N.K. Goyal, President, Telecom Equipment Manufacturing Association (TEMA), said: "This shows that local manufacturers are in a position to offer world class products to the operators."

However, when it comes to the booming wireless segment, there is not much favour for locally manufactured equipment.

Of the Rs 9,650 crore worth wireless equipment installed, local manufacturers accounted for only Rs 500 crore, with the rest being imported by the operators.

Similarly, when it comes to handsets, more than 80 per cent is imported.

"The gap in the wireless segment is owing to the disparity in the duty structure between imports and locally manufactured equipment. The rationalisation carried out recently in the Budget will improve the situation," said Mr Goyal.

Companies that manufacture telecom gear in India include Siemens, Alcatel, Indian Telephone Industries, Himachal Futuristics Communication Ltd and C-DoT.

Multinational manufacturers like Nokia, Ericsson and Motorola have also announced plans to set up manufacturing base in the country for producing wireless equipment.

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