The Telecom Minister met with more than 40 CEOs of telecom gear makers that have qualified for the PLI scheme. He has decided to set up 4-5 task forces to give market support to telcos as well as streamline their business value addition in the economy. The equipment makers expressed concern about the import of network gear from China, which is being routed through other neighboring countries. When asked about concerns regarding imports, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “This issue was discussed, representatives from customs department, Finance Ministry and other Ministries…work will be done on it to devise how to check it in a methodical manner.” Many new ideas have been discussed during the meeting. 5-6 task forces have been set up one for creating a component eco-system, another for developing 4-5 chipsets, one to take those chipsets from design to production, and more. A task force of highly skilled workers and designers has also been made. The telecom producers who aim to export needed help with testing and certification and a task force has been made for the same as well. This task force will optimize the use of test beds in IIT Madras, Telecom Engineering Centre. “From my interaction, the industry is confident that they are in good traction and India should become a technology exporter in the coming years in a very sure and certain way,” Mr. Vaishnav said. He has also confirmed that a task force has been set up to aggregate demand under various government departments, like railways, power, and defense, and channelize it to manufacturers under the PLI Scheme. For the PLI scheme, DoT has selected 42 companies that have a committed investment of 4115 crores. GOI has estimated that the scheme will generate additional sales of 2.45 lakh crore and create additional employment of more than 44,000 over the scheme period.
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