India, Russia moot setting up JV to produce telecom hardware

Vinay Shukla
Moscow, 13 October (PTI) India and Russia could set up a
joint venture for producing telecom hardware to meet the
growing domestic demand even as government readies to roll out
3G and WiMax broadband in the country, Indian Telecom and IT
Minister A Raja said on Wednesday.
"Russia is among the four countries, including the US,
Taiwan and Korea, which have the capacity of making silicon
chips for 3G and WiMax," Raja told reporters at the end of his
Moscow leg of five-day Russia visit.
The idea of an Indo-Russian JV in India came up after
Raja visited the Micron Company here, which produces silicon
chips.
"I was highly impressed. It is an integrated company with
full cycle of production from silicon wafers to micro chips.
We will welcome technical and financial contribution from
Russia in the JV," Raja said.
Raja is the first Indian Telecom and IT Minister to visit
Russia after a gap of nine years since the former IT Minister
Pramod Mahajan's Moscow visit in September 2001. The
government then had vowed to invest heavily in the Russian IT
sector, famous for its hi-end software.
Raja had parleys with his Russian counterpart Igor
Shchegolev in Moscow to explore the possibilities for
interaction in IT and telecom.
"We believe that joint work will bring information and
communication technology to the masses. The two sides have
agreed to sign a MoU to this effect," Raja said.
Russia is among the first few countries to implement
commercial cellular networks of WiMax. At present they
function in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Sochi and some other
cities.
"We believe that this technology is ready for export,"
Russian IT and Mass Media minister Shchegolev told Raja.
The two ministers expressed satisfaction at the ongoing
bilateral cooperation in the space-based navigation system
GLONASS and productive activities of Russian-Indian venture
Sistema Shyam Teleservices Ltd (SSTL), marketing cellular
services in India under MTS brand.
Raja also visited the hi-tech Emergency Response Centre
of the disaster management authority of the country in Moscow,
which continuously receives online data from all over the
country and automatically disseminates it among the concerned
bodies.
"I was highly impressed by the centre. I think our Home
Minister will visit it and the IT Ministry on its part is
ready to help in creating such centre badly needed by India,"
Raja said.PTI