Sibal: No Business Can Afford to Ignore Indian ICT Market

New Delhi: No business can afford to ignore the growing Information Communication Technology (ICT) market in India given its the demographic profile, Communications Minister, Kapil Sibal, said. Sibal pointed out that the young population in the country is more than the total population of the U.S. or Europe. India is also networking its 800 universities and 24,000 colleges through optical fiber cable to empower the youth, he said. The European markets, he said, had got saturated with consumers demanding superior products and services. In contrast, Indian consumer market is far more diverse and multi-layered, comprising not only the price sensitive, semi-literate class but also the rich and the intellectual which demands quality products and services. Sibal said long-term measures such as the National Telecom Policy, National IT Policy and National Electronic and Manufacturing Policy would remove uncertainties from the communications sector, paving the way for long-term investment. Addressing the leadership summit GSM Association (GSMA) in Barcelona, Spain, the minister said the government was committed to provide clarity and regulatory stability to the industry. India planed to move towards technology-neutral unified licence, delinked from spectrum, to exploit the benefits of convergence. India was aiming at a one nation-one licence, mobile number portability and a free roaming regime across services and service areas, he added.