NEW DELHI: Though the outgoing Communications and Information Technology Minister, Dayanidhi Maran, will be credited with bringing down the STD and mobile tariff charges, he might not be able to take credit for abolishing the roaming charges, which he planned to announce soon.

Mr. Maran, who was seen as an industry-and investor-friendly Minister, will be missed by the leaders of both the telecom and IT sectors. Proof of this came in the form of a letter of appreciation by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) soon after he forwarded his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

NASSCOM described Mr. Maran as "a great champion and friend of the Indian IT sector" and lauded his efforts in making India the fastest growing mobile telephony market in the world.

"Great significance"

"He has been instrumental in reinforcing India's position as the premier destination for IT outsourcing and in taking great interest in promoting the growth of the domestic market for IT. His role in bringing major and positive changes in the telecommunications sector has been of great significance to the IT software and services industry," it said in a statement.

During his over three-year tenure, Mr. Maran not only ensured that top multi-national firms made India their manufacturing hubs, but was also instrumental in bringing about policy changes to give a boost to the two fastest growing sectors in the country.

Semiconductor policy

Be it the go-ahead to the ambitious semiconductor policy or the opening of the telecom sector to foreign direct investment, Mr. Maran was always in the forefront championing the cause of India Inc., ensuring that it did not lag behind its competitor China.

During his tenure, Nokia, Ericsson, Motorola, Dell, Samsung, AMD and Flextronics decided to invest in India in a big way. Though he was accused of wooing a majority of the investors to Tamil Nadu, he kept on meeting top business leaders across the world to convince them to focus on India.

As a result, India received investment commitments of almost $20 billion in the IT and telecom sectors in the past three years. The recent clearance to the semiconductor policy will further boost the investment opportunities.

Mr. Maran brought mobile phones within the reach of the common man by not only reducing tariffs, but by also ensuring the manufacture of low-cost handsets. He made STD calls possible at Re.1, and the special focus on the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited helped in taking telephone services to the rural hinterland.

By giving more powers to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, he made telecom companies more accountable, besides paving the way for a constant upgradation of services.

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