Pitroda for raising foreign equity cap in telecom
Wednesday, 06 October 2004, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Sam Pitroda, chairman of World Tel and former head of India's Telecom Commission, Wednesday said the government must raise the foreign investment limit in telecom after arriving at a political consensus. "Over a period of time, it is inevitable," he told reporters after inaugurating a two-day "Leadership Summit 2004" organised here by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Pitroda, who heralded India's telecom revolution in the 1980s and early 1990s, also tempered his statement by saying it was equally important to find the "right window" to raise the foreign investment cap. "Consensus is necessary," he said on the government's proposal to raise the limit to 74 percent from the present 49 percent amid stiff opposition from the Left parties. The 63-year-old technocrat brushed aside arguments that an increase in foreign investment limit in the telecom sector would compromise on the country's security. "That concern is no longer valid," said the Chicago-based entrepreneur who is credited with ensuring a long distance telephone booth in almost all of India's villages as prime mover of the country's technology missions. "It was at the time of the monopolies. Then there was some substance. If the monopoly's control was in foreign hands, it could have been a worry. But no longer now at this time of multiple channels." Pitroda also favoured privatisation of state-run telecom giants such as Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited and said merging the two companies was not the only way to make them competitive. "There are too many issues blocking them. Too many strings prevent fair competition. With the change in the equity, the control will pass on to the organisations themselves and make them competitive," he added. Pitroda, who also was chief of home grown switching giant Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT), said the future of communication technology was in broadband that should be used to network every Indian village. "But this will not be easy, though (optic) fibre (network) is in place. The last mile connectivity is the biggest problem," he said, referring to the quality of the links that connect the fibre optic network with the user premises. Pitroda, who divides his time between business interests in the US and around the world and trying to network India's villages, also spoke of outsourcing as a natural phenomenon. "Outsourcing will continue, despite the controversy. But India will face more competition from countries like China and the Philippines. India needs to keep working to go up the value chain. Then there will be a huge opportunity." Earlier, inaugurating the summit, he said there is a shortage of visionary leadership in the country as all over the world. Good leaders develop an ecosystem of friends drawn from vastly varied backgrounds. The two-day summit on the theme "competing and caring" has as speakers people from different backgrounds.
Source: IANS
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