India committed to zero duty regime

Monday, 12 January 2004, 20:30 IST
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HYDERABAD: India is committed to a zero duty regime by 2005 on all electronic goods including IT products. Minister for IT, Communications and Disinvestment Arun Shourie said this after inaugurating a global IT exhibition GITEX, organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre. "India has already reduced duties and it is committed to a zero duty regime on electronic good including IT products by next year," Shourie told reporters here. He said the recent incentives announced by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh had already given a boost to entrepreneurship, including telecommunications and IT, and hoped that some more incentives would be announced for hardware sector. Shourie and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu went around the exhibition, where about 80 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) companies from India and abroad are displaying their good and services. Shourie also visited the stalls put up by Andhra Pradesh and lauded the initiatives taken by the state government in the field of e-governance and said they had already become a model for other states. "There is good work being done here in making government citizen' friendly and transparent. We will follow some of these practices in other states," he said. Terming the exhibition as educative, he said it displayed some innovative products and services, which could offer solutions to localized problems. Replying to a question about disinvestments, he said Andhra Pradesh had taken some initiatives in this regard that could become a model for others. He referred to disinvestments in state-owned sugar factories. "The Uttar Pradesh government was trying to follow this model but the high court granted a stay. We hope that one day the stay will be vacated," added Shourie.
Source: IANS
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