Maran exhorts Motorola to make Sub-30 dollars handsets

Chennai, Jun 7 (UNI) Union Minister for IT and Communications Dayanidhi Maran today urged mobile major Motorola to concentrate on manufacturing Sub-30 US dollars handset to give a major fillip to the Centre's efforts to improve rural connectivity.

Addressing a press conference after launching Motorola's handset manufacturing facility here, he said 70 per cent of the people were living in rural India and the Congress-led UPA government had been taking a number of steps to improve rural connectivity.

In this context, he said the Motorola's manufacturing facility at Sriperumbudur, which would become operational by 2007, should concentrate on manufacturing mobile phones at sub-30 US dollars.

''They (Motorola) are the first to manufacture sub-40 US dollar handsets'', he added.

Stating that the first phase of the work on the new facility would be completed by January 14, 2007 (Pongal Day), Mr Maran said after Nokia started setting up its unit, several telecom companies have started lining up (in Chennai).

''With the setting up of Motorola's facility, telecom handset manufacturers will give first priority to Chennai than other states for establishing their units'', he said.

In the first phase 3000 people would get employment and another 7500 in the second phase at the Motorola plant. ''This is what (providing employment) the Tamil Nadu and the UPA government at the Centre wants'', he said.

Mr Maran said thanks to the policy decisions taken by the Telecom Department, about five million new phone connections were being added every month in the country.

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