The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday said that India will be importing electronics products worth about 300 billion dollars by 2020, , which will be more than the value of our imports of petroleum products.
"India Telecom series of conferences has been of great benefit to various stakeholders in the telecom sector in our country. I have no doubt that this event this year will see similar success," said Dr Singh at the inauguration of India Telecom 2013 in New Delhi.
"A new policy regime, the National Telecom Policy 2012, was announced last year, bringing clarity on a number of complex issues. We have attempted to simplify the licensing regime, and to ensure adequate availability of spectrum for provision of telecom services and its allocation in a transparent manner through market-related processes," said Dr Singh.
"I understand that the Department of Telecommunications has already started issuing Unified Licenses and will also shortly issue the Merger and Acquisition guidelines. We have raised the Foreign Direct Investment limit in the telecommunications sector from 74% to 100%. I am confident that all these measures will go a long way in addressing the concerns of investors and provide a new impetus to the growth of telecommunications industry in our country," said the Prime Ministe.
"Today services like travel bookings, banking, shopping and education are increasingly being delivered through the Internet. Rapid advances in technology are also resulting in newer uses of this medium," said Dr Singh.
Similarly, combining a computer with 3G connectivity can revolutionize the delivery of education. Students can learn the subject of their choice from quality teachers without leaving the place of their residence.
"I am told that the Telecom Commission is working on such possibilities and I wish them all success in this noble endeavour," said Dr Singh.
"Our Government is alive to the need for expansion of telecom services in the rural areas. One of the key objectives of the National Telecom Policy 2012 is to increase rural tele-density to 70% by the year 2017 and 100% by the year 2020. The Policy also recognizes telecom and broadband connectivity as a basic necessity and aims to provide reliable and affordable broadband access to rural and remote areas in our country," said Prime Minister.
"A scheme to extend financial support from the Universal Service Obligation (USO) Fund for providing mobile communication services in 56000 uncovered villages of our country is on the anvil. This scheme will give priority to the uncovered villages of the North Easten sector," according to a Prime Minister's Office statement.
"We have also approved a scheme for installing mobile towers at about 2200 locations in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) at an estimated cost of about Rs. 3000 crore. This too will be financed by the USO Fund," Prime Minister's Office mentioned in its statement.
The Prime Minister also said that we need to act now to avoid a situation where we face difficulties in financing these huge imports. India should have manufacturing facilities which result in a balanced trade in electronics products and are a part of global supply chains.
Source:- voicendata.com
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