Bicycles? No, Indians want mobile phones

Mobile phones have now become the most coveted consumer product in India, relegating bicycles, which were earlier in the top slot. 

This was stated by Dinesh Shankar Mathur, secretary, department of telecommunications, on Thursday as he showcased the country's massive strides in telephony in recent years and the huge potential for further growth during a road show.

"Mobile phones have now become the highest selling consumer product in India.  It has displaced the bicycle from the top slot," Mathur said alluding to the changing preferences of consumers in India and their love for new communication tools.

At a conference organised by the Consulate General of India in partnership with The Indus Entrepreneurs, Tri-State chapter, speakers that included Mathur and T V Ramachandran, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India, focused on how India has leapfrogged in telephony over many other countries in the last couple of years despite being a late starter in terms of reforms.

"True we had a late start, but now we are having an explosive growth," Ramachandran said while making a power point presentation. "In the last 12 months alone India has clocked 56 million subscribers, next only to China," he said exemplifying India's meteoric growth.

"We have over 165 million subscribers in India. It is double the number two years ago (and) we are adding 6 million subscribes each month," he said.

"This is the highest growth rate in the world. We have surpassed China in this regard," Mathur said, adding that India is now the fifth largest telecom network in the world after China, USA, Japan, and Germany.

"We have come here to inform potential investors about the opportunities in the telecom sector in India so that they can make informed decisions," Mathur told rediff.com.

"We are very optimistic that foreign majors will come to India and take part in the growth process in the telecom sector," he said.

Reiterating that the government allows 100 percent foreign direct investment in telecom manufacturing sector, he said in the service sector the cap has been raised from 49 percent to 74 with certain national security safeguards.  He, however, admitted that certain service providers had expressed concerns in this regard.  

"The government of India is addressing these concerns seriously," he said.