The Hindu Business Line : Semiconductor Policy brings in 17 projects

The Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Mr A. Raja (second from right), with (from left) Mr Ashwin Patel, Chairman, Asian American Hotel Owners Association; Mr T.P. Sreenivasan, former Indian Ambassador to the United Nations; and Mr Thomas Abraham, Chairman, GOPIO International, at the regional session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Chennai on Friday.

Our Bureau

Chennai, Jan. 9 Seventeen projects amounting to an investment of $31 billion (Rs 1,57,000 crore) have been received by the Government under the Semiconductor Policy, according to Mr A. Raja, Union Minister of Communications and Information Technology.

The policy provides special incentives in the form of capital subsidy of 20 per cent for units in special economic zone and 25 per cent for units outside the SEZ on the investment.

The proposals received include investments in semiconductor wafer fabrication, TFT-LCD panel and solar photovoltaic.

“I urge all NRIs to take advantage of this scheme [the policy] by bringing investment in the country and help India in leapfrogging in the field of manufacturing of IT hardware,” he said at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2009.

Though Indian companies like Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have made waves in the IT sector, there is a lacuna in manufacturing of IT hardware.

To encourage investment in the IT sector, the Government announced the Semiconductor Policy in 2007, he said.

Mr Raja said though the country was able to achieve growth in voice communication, another area that has a huge growth potential to propel the country to the next level of connectivity – from voice to data – is the expansion of broadband.

Broadband connections have doubled in the last year to reach 5 million, representing a model 0.5 per cent. The target is to achieve 20 million by 2010.

The Minister urged NRIs to participate and share growth in this area and help in transforming the masses of the country into educated and informed people.

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