CHENNAI: One of the major reasons for Taiwanese hardware and electronic equipment firms considering setting up manufacturing operations in India is the increase in marine insurance premium after the 9/11 terrorist strikes.

Compared with East Asia, shipping goods from India to the major markets of Europe and the United States is to their advantage both in terms of the premium and the shipment time, according to Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, Manufacturers Association of Information Technology. The companies stood to save 25 per cent on the freight cost if they ship their products from India, he told a session on `Enhancing cooperation between India and Japan, Asia Pacific and Taiwan' at Connect-2006 on Friday. Mr. Mehta said the country was emerging as a major base for hosting hardware research and development centres. The attraction to invest in the hardware sector was driven by the growth in the mobile phone market.

Director-general of Cellular Operators Association of India T.V. Ramachandran said though the mobile phone subscriber base was "knocking on the six million a month [mark]" it nevertheless was far below the potential. This was because the mobile penetration in the country was just 10 per cent.

M. Madhavan Nambiar, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Information Technology, who chaired the session, highlighted the huge market that would be created as a result of the e-governance programme of the government.

Outsourcing

Addressing another session, The Netherlands Minister for Foreign Trade Karien van Gennip said India and The Netherlands could partner for a share of the outsourcing jobs from the continental European market.

There was a lot for both the countries to gain by working together in science and technology. "Make use of our universities and technology centres," the visiting Minister said, listing biotechnology, infrastructure, pharmaceutical and IT as key areas of cooperation.

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