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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday that electronic systems and IT and Business Process Management sectors are among the 25 key sectors under the Make in India campaign and that the Centre has taken a number of steps to encourage the sector.
He said this in his address at the pre-Budget consultations with software and hardware firms in the IT sector.
On its part, the IT industry sought relief from double taxation on software products, the option to stagger bonus payments to employees and extension of differential pricing rules that had been imposed on mobile phones to other electronic products as well.
“We have raised concerns on double taxation of software products. While the GST will address that, we have suggested that some measures be taken to address the issue till the time GST comes into force,” Nasscom President R Chandrashekhar said after the meeting.
Growing protectionism Issues relating to competitiveness of the IT sector in the wake of protectionist policies by some countries were also taken up at the meeting, which was attended by representatives from IT firms including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro and HCL. The US, a key market for India’s software industry, had last month hiked visa fees.
Meanwhile, given thata large number of IT companies have offices in Chennai, the firms sought a one-time relief for rehabilitation benefits given to employees after the recent floods. Later in the day, mobile and IT hardware firms also met the Finance Minister and sought measures to boost domestic equipment manufacturing as part of the Make in India campaign.
“We have requested the government to continue differential pricing on mobile phones, andextendeit to other categories like laptops,” said Josh Foulger, Foxconn India Country head. Meanwhile, Indian Cellular Association National President Pankaj Mohindroo said the Association wants measures to develop the component base in the country. “For a successful Make In India campaign, we have requested a tax structure where we can focus on higher value addition in manufacturing of electronic products,” he said.
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