NEWS-INDIA: Hardware task force to attract global majors: Shourie

["Frederick Noronha (FN)" <fred@bytesforall.org>]

Hardware task force to attract global majors: Shourie

By Imran Qureshi, Indo-Asian News Service

Bangalore, June 17 (IANS) India is planning to set up a task force that
would campaign to attract global hardware majors here, IT Minister Arun
Shourie has said.

"The concept is that companies that have achieved success in India should be
able to leverage at the board level of multinationals and convince them to
set up shop here," he said on the sidelines of the launch of Asia's biggest
IT event, the BangaloreIT.Com, 2003, late Monday.

"The idea of the task force would be for focused and targeted wooing of
investors in hardware. Why should they all go only to China, why not India,"
he added.

Shourie was speaking after a meeting with the head honchos of 20-25 major IT
companies at Wipro's electronic city facility.

"Azim Premji (chairman of Wipro) gave me an update on what are the issues
that are pending with the government," the minister said.

The meeting, described as "most constructive" by Shourie, discussed ways by
which the government should assist the IT sector for its growth,
administrative matters like customs clearance, how to respond to
protectionism from the U.S. and Britain and making India an attractive
destination for hardware.

"It really is a collaborative effort," he said about issues relating to
visas or deduction of 21.5-35 percent of salary at source for social
security schemes abroad, which Indians working there are anyway not covered
by after a decade.

On issues of outsourcing, Shourie said there was really no need to panic.
"It is the success of Indian companies that has given India a big presence
globally. These are all problems of success."

Replying to a question, Shourie said he was working for a unified license in
telecom in the wake of changing technology.

"Once you get a license for the spectrum you should be able to do anything,
now that technology enables all voice, data and video on a single platform."

--Indo-Asian News Service