New policy for semi-conductor industry: Maran

Chennai, Aug 28: The Congress led UPA government would soon unveil a new policy to address the need of semi-conductor industry, Union Communication and Information Technology Minister Dayanidhi Maran said today.

Talking to newspersons after a meeting with a delegation of Taiwanese semi-conductor associations here, Mr Maran said a proposal with regard to the policy had already been submitted to the Finance Ministry and the matter would be taken up with the Prime Minister soon.

He said we would be taking up the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to put forward the proposal and hope to bring out the policy soon.

Mr Maran said his Ministry would act as a nodal agency in finalising the policy, for which the discussions had already been initiated.

Earlier, addressing a 19-member delegation, Mr Maran asked the Taiwanese companies to look at Tamil Nadu and India as destinations for setting up semi-conductor industries. Besides the huge market, India would offer the Taiwanese companies the cost advantage and provide them with all possible helps for joint ventures, he added.

Stating that semi-conductor industries had huge employment potential, Mr Maran said they would offer employment to 15 lakh people in the next eight years.

The consumption of semi-conductors in the next seven to eight years in India would be 33 billion US dollars, while the finished products' market would be 360 billion US dollars, he added.

India had very good manufacturing capabilities and the Indian market was so mature that the companies could manufacture and find markets in the country itself, Mr Maran said.

The Taiwanese delegation would be visiting Bangalore and Delhi to look for opportunities for joint ventures with Indian companies and also conduct a study for the manufacture of semi-conductors.

A panel discussion on strategies for entering new markets in Semicon and Electronic Hardware, India and Taiwan, addressed by Mr Maran was organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI).

UNI