Making India a Telecom Manufacturing Hub: Emerging Issues and Challenges
Indian telecom services industry has been witnessing
a stupendous growth since 1990s. Over the years, subscriber base has
grown steadily and it crossed 950 million marks in March 2012.
India with second largest subscriber base also offers one of the
lowest call tariffs in the world. But in the euphoria of high growth in
services, the equipment manufacturing received least priority. India
mainly depends on imported components from China. Of late, it is
realized that lack of domestic manufacturing may pose a serious
challenge to India-s continued success in the telecom sector.
Therefore, the National Telecom Policy 2012 aims at developing a
strong equipment manufacturing base within India. This paper
realistically assesses India-s true potential in equipment
manufacturing and seeks to identify the emerging issues and
challenges before the Indian telecom equipment manufacturing sector
while it tries to make a transition from an import-dependent industry
to a global manufacturing hub.
[1] TRAI, Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 30th November
2012, Press Release No. 02/2013, dated 11th January 2013.
[2] TRAI, Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report for the
Quarter ending September, 2012, Press Release No. 03/2013, dated 11th
January 2013.
[3] TRAI, Recommendations on Telecom Equipment Manufacturing Policy,
April, 2011.
[4] Decision, World Electronics Industry 2008-2013: Executive Summary,
April, 2009.
[5] Ventureoutsource.com, "2011 Report: China manufacturing hourly labor
rate, compensation costs impact EMS"
(http://www.ventureoutsource.com/contract-manufacturing/2011-chinamanufacturing-
hourly-labor-rate-compensation-costs-ems, accessed on
5th February, 2013).
[6] Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, National
Telecom Policy 2012, June, 2012 (www.dot.gov.in/ntp/NTP-
06.06.2012-final).
[7] Tele.net, "Manufacturing hub: India emerges as a key telecom
equipment market", March, 2011 (http://www.tele.net.in/trends-adevelopments/
item/7563-manufacturing-hub-india-emerges-as-a-keytelecom-
equipment-market accessed on 20th January 2013).
[8] Akhilesh Shukla, "Can India become a telecom manufacturing hub? The
Sunday Indian, June 19, 2011.
[9] Center for Land Warfare Studies, Report of the National Seminar on
Technological Sovereignty in ICT held in New Delhi on October 11,
2012.
[10] Hindustan Times, "Cabinet Secretariat fears security threat from foreign
telecom gear", Mumbai Edition, February 6, 2013.
[11] The World Bank, Doing Business 2013- Smarter Regulations for Small
and Medium-Size Enterprises, Washington, 2013.
[1] TRAI, Highlights of Telecom Subscription Data as on 30th November
2012, Press Release No. 02/2013, dated 11th January 2013.
[2] TRAI, Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report for the
Quarter ending September, 2012, Press Release No. 03/2013, dated 11th
January 2013.
[3] TRAI, Recommendations on Telecom Equipment Manufacturing Policy,
April, 2011.
[4] Decision, World Electronics Industry 2008-2013: Executive Summary,
April, 2009.
[5] Ventureoutsource.com, "2011 Report: China manufacturing hourly labor
rate, compensation costs impact EMS"
(http://www.ventureoutsource.com/contract-manufacturing/2011-chinamanufacturing-
hourly-labor-rate-compensation-costs-ems, accessed on
5th February, 2013).
[6] Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, National
Telecom Policy 2012, June, 2012 (www.dot.gov.in/ntp/NTP-
06.06.2012-final).
[7] Tele.net, "Manufacturing hub: India emerges as a key telecom
equipment market", March, 2011 (http://www.tele.net.in/trends-adevelopments/
item/7563-manufacturing-hub-india-emerges-as-a-keytelecom-
equipment-market accessed on 20th January 2013).
[8] Akhilesh Shukla, "Can India become a telecom manufacturing hub? The
Sunday Indian, June 19, 2011.
[9] Center for Land Warfare Studies, Report of the National Seminar on
Technological Sovereignty in ICT held in New Delhi on October 11,
2012.
[10] Hindustan Times, "Cabinet Secretariat fears security threat from foreign
telecom gear", Mumbai Edition, February 6, 2013.
[11] The World Bank, Doing Business 2013- Smarter Regulations for Small
and Medium-Size Enterprises, Washington, 2013.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:59365", author = "Utpal Chattopadhyay", title = "Making India a Telecom Manufacturing Hub: Emerging Issues and Challenges", abstract = "Indian telecom services industry has been witnessing
a stupendous growth since 1990s. Over the years, subscriber base has
grown steadily and it crossed 950 million marks in March 2012.
India with second largest subscriber base also offers one of the
lowest call tariffs in the world. But in the euphoria of high growth in
services, the equipment manufacturing received least priority. India
mainly depends on imported components from China. Of late, it is
realized that lack of domestic manufacturing may pose a serious
challenge to India-s continued success in the telecom sector.
Therefore, the National Telecom Policy 2012 aims at developing a
strong equipment manufacturing base within India. This paper
realistically assesses India-s true potential in equipment
manufacturing and seeks to identify the emerging issues and
challenges before the Indian telecom equipment manufacturing sector
while it tries to make a transition from an import-dependent industry
to a global manufacturing hub.", keywords = "Equipment manufacturing, global hub, Indian
telecom industry, issues and challenges.", volume = "7", number = "3", pages = "764-7", }