Take advantage of Digital India, Prasad urges US firms

Asserting that India is sitting on the cusp of a digital revolution, union communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday exhorted senior executives of leading American information technology firms to take advantage of the 'Digital India' initiative and tap the growth opportunities in the country.

"India is sitting on the cusp of a digital revolution," the minister told executives of top American IT firms in a round table in Boston.

"Whether it is big metropolitan cities or small towns, a well-connected India has the potential to not only usher in economic and welfare opportunities for its citizens, but also the global economic order," Prasad, who is here to attend the annual India Conference at Harvard University, said.

"Our government is taking every policy decision in a transparent, predictable and reasonable manner. Therefore, I encourage American businesses to take advantage of the Digital India programme, and the growth opportunities in India," Prasad said.

Organized by US India Business Council, the round table was attended by senior executives of American and Indian companies that included Google, AT&T, MasterCard, Facebook, American Tower Corporation, UST Global and iTech.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directive to connect Indian diaspora across the country is a tremendous opportunity for both Indian and US companies alike, said USIBC president Mukesh Aghi.

"We encourage the development of policies that clear bureaucratic hurdles which may delay the achieving of last-mile connectivity," he said.

Noting that 85 per cent Indians still do not have access to the Internet, Aghi said therefore, to fill this gap the government could make it easier to obtain clearances to install cell phone towers.

"IT infrastructure can be further expanded by lifting the ban on foreign satellite operators so they can provide spectrum in hard-to-reach areas," Aghi said.

Dan Gupta of UST Global estimated that the Digital India initiative could help boost India's gross domestic product (GDP) by around US $550 billion upping its GDP by US $1 trillion by 2025, a historic growth that can only be fostered by encouraging cooperation between the two nations.

"Industry commends the government's continued efforts on the passage of important economic reforms such as the Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill that will simplify the indirect tax regime and allow an individual to start a business with ease," Khurana said.