Telecom industry to profit from FDI hike: Maran

Government has said that with the increase in FDI limit to 74%, the telecom industry would get more funds for infrastructure expansion.

Government on Friday said that with the increase in FDI limit to 74 per cent, the telecom industry would get more funds for infrastructure expansion.

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"This budget is welcomed by the telecom industry. It is pro-infrastructure. We need a lot of infrastructure. With hiked FDI limit to 74 per cent, we can expect more funds to come in for infrastructure development in telecom industry", Communication and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran said.

He said following the increase in the limit, more people (investment) were expected to come into this business, which will increase the competitiveness of this business.

Ultimately the consumer will benefit because of competition. Already we have the lowest rates compared to the rest of the world.

With more competition, there will be better services and for lesser rates, Maran added.

Asked whether there was a consensus within the UPA to increase the FDI in telecom to 74 per cent, Maran said "I don't think the Finance Minister would have made the decision all by himself".

He said BSNL and MTNL would come up with a lot of surprises by the year-end and added a lot of push is being given to broadband.

"I can see that the same kind of revolution that took place in mobile sector, is going to take place in the broadband sector. We should wait for some time for the equipment to be in place", he said.

Earlier, Singapore Trade and Industry Minister George Yeo called on Maran to discuss the steps to improve relationship in IT and telecom sector.