A Hardware Future Rises for India
A Hardware Future Rises for India
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  • 승인 2006.07.01 12:01
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India's IT Minister urges more investment by Korean firms in semiconductors The first thing that strikes one about India's young and dynamic IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran is his enthusiasm and optimistic vision for the development of India's burgeoning IT industry. In an exclusive interview with the Korea IT Times, the Indian minister explained that the reason for his first visit to Korea was to build further upon the excellent relations in the field of information and communications technology between the two countries. Mentioning the success of companies like LG, Samsung and Hyundai in India, he explained that India was keen to see more Korean investment, particularly in the Indian hardware industry, and especially in semiconductors, LCD and plasma panels, etc. He pointed out that besides India's favorable geographical location, there was also the cost advantage, with skilled labor costs in India 13-14% cheaper than in Korea. At the investors conference which he was attending in Seoul on the morning of our interview he said he would be explaining too Korean investors some of these advantages of investing in the Indian IT industry. The minister pointed to the rapidly increasing mobile phone market in India as an example of the huge potential for investment in India, mentioning that the 100 million-subscriber mark had been passed already, and that the target was 500 million by the year 2010. With its massive population approaching 1.2 billion and about 35% of the people under the age of 15, there was a tremendous market potential among the youth ready and willing to accept new high-tech products and ideas, the minister added. LG was producing mobile handsets in India on a large-scale and it made commercial sense for Korean firms to use India as an export base Responding to a question regarding how best the two countries could develop their relations in the ICT field, the minister stressed the importance of personal communications and briefings through visits such as his. He believed that not only the chaebol (conglomerates), but also Korea's small and medium enterprises (SMEs), should take advantage of India's strengths in the service and manufacturing sectors. He pointed out that 80-90% of the Fortune 500 companies had set up R&D centers in India, with its large Englishspeaking population, skilled and highly educated workers and lower labor costs. The upcoming visit by Korea's MIC minister in September would add further impetus to closer ties and he hoped Korean SMEs will be accompanying the minister and see for themselves what India is offering the world. India is fast emerging as a global manufacturing hub and the minister drew attention to the fact that India is now the second most favored destination for FDI in manufacturing. He pointed out that Korea and India could leverage their respective strengths in hardware and software and create a winwin situation for both countries. Asked about India's policy goals in the ICT area, he said it was his ministry's vision to see India as a preferred destination for semiconductor manufacturing. Various incentives were currently being planned for FDI in this sector. Policy to encourage investment in semiconductors and hardware as there is a big imbalance between India's hardware and software exports in t he It and electronics industries. Software exports grew by 32% in 2005/20006 and he pointed out that there were many opportunities for Korean exporters and importers in this field as well as hardware. (Official statistics for 2005/2006 put India's IT & Electronics software exports at US$25.3 billion, while hardware exports only amounted to US$1.9 billion) Minister Maran concluded the interview by praising Korea's development of Wibro and DMB technology. He said it was being closely watched by India and there was serious interest in applying the technology in India after seeing how it succeeds in the rest of the world.

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