Electronic goods makers to get boost with 8 new clusters.

NEW DELHI: India will soon have eight new electronic manufacturing clusters as the new government gets going with its agenda of making India a hub for indigenous goods and reducing dependence on imports, telecom and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said at an industry event organised by The Economic Times in collaboration with AMCHAM. "Eight clusters for electronic manufacturing have been approved," Prasad said at an interaction between the government and the American Chamber of Commerce in India, Wednesday.

India imports 90% of the electronic goods used by its citizens, which may well surpass the oil import bill of $400 billion soon. "I'm going to address this," Prasad added, underlining the criticality of local semiconductor wafer fabrication (FAB) manufacturing facilities, which will help in reducing the dependence on imports.

Inviting American companies to invest in fab manufacturing facilities in India and increasing employment opportunities here, Prasad said India is poised to become the global electronic manufacturing & IT product hub and it's a great opportunity for investors. Further, the government is open to resolving any problems that foreign companies may encounter. "If you face any problems, please come to me," he said.

Prasad said the new government would provide a stable fiscal regime, good governance with integrity, clear policy initiatives and tax structures while exercising nondiscrimination and engagement with the industry. "We're willing to walk the extra mile." Prasad added that the Narendra Modi-led government will be known for creating broadband highways, as it plans to connect 50,000 panchayats by broadband or optic fibre by March, 2015, 100,000 by the year after that and another 100,000 by March, 2017. The project has special attention of the Prime Minister who also wants make egovernance available to all Indians countrywide.

"Soon, there will be an IT panchayat held in Bangalore," Prasad said while proposing a secondary focus on IT products alongside services. Touching upon the issue of lack of spectrum for telecom carriers in India, an industry where American telecom companies have looked at now and then, the minister said he was 'working out' issues on spectrum trading, which could relieve stress on airwaves capacity. However, he did not share details of what was in store for telcos. He added that the "days of lobbying" were over and that decisions would be made only on merit, ensuring transparency and policy predictability for investors.

Meanwhile, civil aviation minister Raju said relations between India and the US, the largest trading and investment partner in the sector, should be taken to the next level where American companies can invest in technology, raw material development capabilities, international airworthiness certifications and financing. "There are ample opportunities for cooperation in the field of civil aviation infrastructure and upgrading the non-metro airports, air traffic control systems, general aviation, aerospace and MRO in India," Raju said.

Satyan Gajwani, chief executive officer, Times Internet, The Times Group, flagged industry concerns about an uncertain policy regime." Industry has concerns about various aspects of policy - stability of the tax regime, arbitrariness in the grant of certain clearances, difficulty in obtaining land for industry," said Gajwani.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com