IT Secretary hopeful of sops for hardware industry in budget

The Department of Information Technology has taken up with the Finance Ministry some of the problems being faced by the computer hardware industry.
The Department is expecting a favorable response from the Finance Ministry in this regard. This was revealed by Rajeeva Ratna Shah, Secretary,
Department of IT, while addressing the INDIASOFT 2003 inaugural function in New Delhi, organized by the Electronics and Computer Software Export
Promotion Council (ESC).

He said that in the previous budget also, Government had tried to rectify some of the fiscal anomalies being faced by the
hardware industry. This exercise to strengthen the hardware sector, he hoped, will be taken to the
logical end in the coming budget. 

Shah said that India would be setting up three institutes in Information Technology in Ghana, Mongolia and Vietnam to create
strong linkages with these countries in the IT sector. Shah also said that with the Indian
assistance, a cyber city was being built in Mauritius. The work relating to this is at an advanced stage of completion. 

Shah appealed to the international community to adhere to the Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in the software development.
He said that illegal replications of software are taking place. This will not help any country or
enterprise in the long run. Concrete advantages for the host country can be accrued only when the IPRs are being adhered to. Shah mentioned the need for
"wiring" the domestic industry. This, he said, would create more opportunities for the software industry.

In his address, Dr Surapong Suebwonglee, Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Thailand, said that his
country was looking forward to have meaningful tie-ups with India in the areas including
e-commerce, e-governance and third-party outsourcing contracts. Deepak Puri, Chairman, ESC, said that the Government and industry should
work in tandem for promoting the IT industry in the country. In this regard, he mentioned that SMEs in the IT sector should be exempted from taxation on
exports.

DK Sareen, Executive Director, ESC, gave the overall view of the INDIASOFT 2003 and explained how over the years it has assumed importance both in
India and abroad. 

CYBER NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI