DoT may follow chinese model for telecom product push.

KOLKATA: The Department of Telecommunications is likely to accept the advice of top institutions to adopt the Chinese development model to unlock some Rs 17,000 crore of central funds that have been proposed for encouraging innovation and boosting telecom product manufacturing. In an internal note, DoT has termed India's contribution to global telecom intellectual property rights (IPRs) as "practically nil".

The faculty members of the Indian Institutes of Technology, Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad have highlighted that "China has helped its local telecom companies generate a majority of the IPRs in newgen technologies through proactive support to R&D and innovations since telecom technologies are IPR-driven", it said in the note seen by ET.

DoT is examining the suggestion to ring in "proactive government funding along the Chinese lines" for widening research and development, IPR and product development.

A DoT panel that had originally developed the blueprint for creating three central telecom funds aggregatingRs 17,000 crore for R&D, entrepreneurship development and product manufacturing, last year said "it is imperative to operationalise these (dormant) funds to strengthen India's local manufacturing ecosystem and its pool of telecom IPRs, which in turn will have long-term fiscal benefits."

According to this panel, government funding for telecom product development will "create a pullthrough effect for an overall electronics manufacturing ecosystem, resulting in a reduced import bill." This would help bridge the deficit, it said. DoT's latest overtures are in sync with the BJP-led government's plans to incentivise chip-fabrication units and transform India into a global telecom gear manufacturing hub.

More so, as it feels India's telecom industry is "largely driven by imported equipment rather than innovations or local production", which is resulting in considerable forex outflows. According to it, "growing imports of cellphones and tablets is further depleting forex reserves".

Top academics of IITs, IISc and IIM-A urged the government last month to use a portion of airwave auction proceeds to activate the central funds created a year ago to support local telecom equipment manufacturing, R&D and IPR creation.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com