According to Milind Deora, minister of state for communications and IT, India imported telecom equipment worth Rs 540 billon in 2012-13. In comparison, the industry had imported telecom gears valued at Rs 524.41 billion in 2011-12.
The imports largely comprised of mobile handsets and related equipment, wireline and cordless devices, and network equipment.
According to the data provided by the minister, the country imported handset equipment worth Rs 258.35 billion for wireline and wireless networks in 2012-13. In comparison, in 2011-12, operators had imported similar equipment worth Rs 277.15 billion.
The import of line telephone sets with cordless handsets increased from Rs 2.49 billion in 2011-12 to Rs 2.58 billion in 2012-13. Deora further stated that the telecom network in the country is expanding slowly. The import of base stations declined from Rs 7.72 billion in 2013 to Rs 2.02 billion in 2012.
Further, the telecom subscriber base in the country reached 903 million at the end of June 2013. Also, the annual revenue of the service providers increased from Rs 877.94 billion in 2005-06 to Rs 1,799.14 billion in 2011-12.
