The Hindu Business Line : Network equipment vendors must have local production, says Maran

IN a bid to boost telecom manufacturing in the country, the Communication and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, on Wednesday said the private telecom service providers would be requested to procure network equipment from vendors with local manufacturing facility in the country.

State-owned telecom majors Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) have already decided to make it mandatory for the telecom equipment suppliers bidding for their tenders to have a local manufacturing facility. The vendors can manufacture equipment directly or through contract manufacturers in India. This is being done so as to ensure the quality, timeliness of delivery and after-sales service.

"The Department of Telecom also proposes to request the private operators to follow this methodology," Mr Maran said while speaking at the Annual Conference of Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association of India (TEMA), here. The Minister said that the initiatives taken by the telecom service providers would ensure India becoming a manufacturing hub for telecom equipment.

Mr Maran said that so far, the pro-active role of Government in facilitating foreign investment and setting up of manufacturing units has shown positive results. Elcoteq has already commenced production in Bangalore. Ericsson and ITI-Alcatel have started indigenous manufacture of Base Tower Station (BTS).

Nokia is setting up a unit near Chennai with an investment of about Rs 670 crore, which will manufacture mobile handsets and network equipment.

In addition to this Flextronics, Siemens, Motorola and LG have plans of making substantial investment in the manufacturing sector.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Northeast monsoon seen setting in early

Network equipment vendors must have local production, says Maran

Road operators to be compensated if hit by over Rs 1 cr

Banks, FMCG, metal stocks in the red

ICICI Bank, South Indian Bank to issue fresh equity

Raising capital by banks — RBI mulls hybrid instruments

Super-premium flats only for `handpicked' clients