In a bid to promote India as a hardware destination, a high-powered delegation headed by the IT secretary K K Jaswal will visit the United States and European countries to make board-level presentations.
"We are sending a team headed by the IT secretary along with representatives of four or five successful Indian hardware companies like Moser Baer to make board level presentations to 20 companies in the US and Europe," Union Communications and IT Minister Arun Shourie said on the sidelines of the Asian IT Minister's Conference in Hyderabad.
"I am sure in two-three years you will see India emerging as a hardware destination," he said.
Hailing the latest incentives on rationalisation of duties by finance minister in the mini-Budget, he said "a number of fiscal incentives have already been announced in the last Budget. More are on the anvil."
Appreciating the Andhra Pradesh government for setting up a hardware park, Shourie said the IT department is working together with the Andhra Pradesh government to devise a package of incentives to the hardware industry.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu said: "We are attracting huge investment in hardware park. India is very strong in software but weak in hardware."
"We have to strengthen hardware otherwise it will be lopsided," he said.
"The hardware park is ready. Videocon has started some electronics goods also. We are approaching so many companies," Naidu said.
"The state government has received a proposal on semiconductor but we have to subsidise that unit and we are discussing the matter with the Government of India and if it happens, so many industries will come. But for that we have to give incentives for hardware," he added.
