Develop products needed by industry: Telecom Secretary to C-DOT

NEW DELHI: Telecom technology arm of the government, C-DOT, should interact more with the industry and try to develop products that they need, Telecom Secretary Rakesh Garg said today.

“There should be a mechanism in which C-DOT interacts with the industry before the development of a product… They should try to find the problem for which they can give a solution,” Garg said at an event organised by C-DOT here.

“Electronic manufacturing is not doing very well. There is something wrong,” he said, adding that the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative aims at boosting manufacturing in the country.

Garg said India is importing about Rs 50,000 crore worth of electronic products while the exports are just in the range of Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 crore.

Government-owned research and development organisation, C-DOT has the talent and the manpower to develop good products for the telecom sector to counter imports that are dominating domestic market.

The Centre for Development of Telematics was established in August 1984 as an autonomous body to promote telecom technology.

Government has also announced setting up of an Electronic Development Fund which is aimed at addressing finance issue that sector faces in development of innovative products.