India will not pursue protectionism policy, says Sibal

Government is in the process of finalising an electronics manufacturing policy, encourage the use of indigenous equipment, curtail imports bill

PTI | February 28, 2012



Allaying fears of foreign electronics manufacturers, India has said it will not pursue protectionism policy and will give level-playing field to all participants.

"Look at the policies of world around, we are far less protectionist than any other country in the world. There is no question of India becoming protectionist," Indian Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said.

The government is in the process of finalising an electronics manufacturing policy that would encourage the use of indigenous equipment and curtail India's import bill.

"There has to be a level playing (field) among players.

(Does) India have level playing when foreign companies enter? They need to see that," Sibal told PTI.

Recently, it approved a proposal that electronic products with minimum 25 per cent content from India should be given preference in government procurement in the first year.

He said the government is looking to ensure that dependency of India on imports is reduced over a period to cut trade deficit.

"We must make sure that in ultimate analysis, India does not have to import everything. Like other countries have done ... they have revved (revamped) their manufacturing capacities. That's exactly what we want," he said.

If India does not build manufacturing capacity, the import bill in this area alone will swell to USD 300 billion by 2020, he added.

The local value addition should be increased five per cent every year with maximum of 45 per cent over period of five years.

During his week-long trip, Sibal will meet telecom industry leaders and senior government officials of different countries.

"We are here to build confidence among investors...fact that India is market with enormous depth. Market itself is unsaturated, the investors should have confidence that India market has enormous potential and we will ensure that there is clarity of policy, so that they can make there long term plan and be in market for both, the good of their consumers and their own good," he said.

During the course of his visit, the minister is scheduled to meet officials from Bharti Airtel, Vodafone, Telenor and telecom equipment and product vendors makers including Ericsson, Shyam Telecom, Alcatel Lucent and Nokia Siemens Network.

Comments

 

Other News

Railways imposed ₹5.13 crore fine for food quality and hygiene violations

Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on an average. About only 0.0008% food quality related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC. Such actions include imposition of fines amounting to ₹5.13

STHAVAR: Why every Indian built asset needs a permanent digital identity

India has built digital systems for identity, payments, taxation, documents, logistics and public services. State governments, ministries, infrastructure agencies and urban local bodies have also created portals for land records, building permissions, project monitoring, property taxation and municipal s

Saksham Skill census identifies 22,000 job-ready candidates in one Mumbai ward

A first-of-its-kind AI-enabled skill census conducted in Mumbai`s H-West Ward has identified a potential livelihood pipeline of nearly 22,000 candidates, generated over 32,000 provisional job matches while revealing that 71.2 per cent of surveyed homemakers are willing to join the workforce, according to

GI tags: Scaling traditional wealth into global brands

Geographical Indication (GI) tags have emerged as a powerful tool for protecting India`s cultural heritage, while creating economic opportunities for local communities. By linking products to their place of origin, GI tags preserve traditional knowledge, prevent misuse, and enhance consumer trust. They h

BMC: 207 officials in ACB net, 112 still on duty, 68 retire before justice catches up

There are significant delays in the handling of corruption cases involving officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained by rights activist Jeetendra Ghadge has revealed. As of 30 April 2026, 207 BMC officials face Anti-Corruption Bureau (A

The transformation trap: Why efficiency is not innovation

Every company is transforming, or so it claims.   There was a time when the word ‘transformation’ carried weight. It signified bold strategic shifts, reinvention of business models, and breakthrough technologies that fundamentally changed how organizations created

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter