TRAI moots ways to stimulate networking, telecom gear mfg

THE TELECOM REGULATORY Authority of India (TRAI) has mooted 'concurrent PLI scheme' focussing on components and sub-assembly manufacturing to facilitate collaborated production activities, as it released an extensive set of recommendations to promote manufacturing of networking and telecom gear in India through tax benefit, dedicated master fund and other sweeteners.

- 

With a sharp gaze on goals of scaling domestic production and local value addition in global value chains, TRAI in its recommendations favoured additional two per cent benefit under the design-led PLI scheme for product lines meeting a certain criteria, while also talking of a dedicated 'Networking and Telecommunications Equipment Development' fund.

In order to spur innovation and encourage industry's drive towards beneficially owned resident Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), lower corporate income tax has also been recommended. This would apply if the enterprise is continuously engaged in R&D-driven manufacturing and attains half of its turnover based on IPRS-owned, TRAI said in its recommendations.