Manmohan Singh committed to forward looking policies for telecom growth

New Delhi, Dec 7 (ANI): Emphasising that the telecommunications sector is one of India's success stories, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said that his government is committed to forward looking policies that will encourage further growth of the sector.

Addressing the India Telecom 2011 Inaugural Session here on Wednesday, Dr. Singh said: "Our government is committed to doing all it can to ensure that we see even more successes in the future in this vital sector of our economy. We will work closely with all stakeholders to build upon what we have achieved. I would like to take this opportunity to assure all of you that our government will continue to formulate forward looking policies that will encourage further growth of the telecom sector."

"I am aware of some concerns of the telecom industry regarding government policies in the telecom sector. I wish to reassure industry of the government's full commitment to sustaining growth, creativity and enterprise in this vitally important sector of our economy," he added.

Urging industry to look ahead and work towards giving a new momentum and energy to the development and spread of telecommunications in the country, Dr. Singh said: "Keeping in view the growth potential for the manufacture of telecom equipment in our country and our strategic and security interests, there is an urgent need to give impetus to domestic Research and Development and manufacturing in the telecom sector."

"The National Telecom Policy 2011 will lay special emphasis on providing affordable and quality telecommunication services in rural and remote areas. I am sure that the policy will help us in achieving our goal of rapid growth, whose benefits are shared by each and every citizen of our vast country," he added

Asserting that the telecommunications sector in India has grown at a quick pace over more than a decade now, Dr. Singh said: "We are today the fastest growing telecom market in the world, with the addition of over 18 million subscribers every month."

"The penetration of wireless voice services has increased from about 2 per cent in 2000 to about 72.1 per cent in August 2011. Moreover, our telecom tariffs are among the lowest in the world. All this has been possible due to our regulatory regimes which have encouraged competition, as well as due to the innovation and enterprise of the private sector in our country," he added. (ANI)