We believe that 3G is critical to the growth of the Indian telecom industry, Quick 3G spectrum auction is essential to enable empowerment for people and foster all-round inclusive growth.

P Balaji, VP, marketing & strategies, Ericsson

Digital divide needs to be addressed in various areas such as education, healthcare, farming, e-governance, etc, and this can be best done by setting up special missions. Our villages must be brought online. Suitable funds must be allocated, and schemes structured. Excise duty benefits to their manufacturing units in Jammu & Kashmir need to be brought back to their original status. SAD has outlived its utility and needs to be abolished. Procedure for claiming refund of SAD needs to be simplified. There are several irritants in the policies and procedures for payment of duties/taxes and claiming exemptions or refunds which need to be addressed.

Ramesh A Vaswani, executive vice chairman, Intex Technologies

For India to lead the global economy, the need of the hour is incentives that will attract more investments and create a cascading effect resulting in growth and inclusion. The extension of the tax holiday beyond 2010, for at least three more years, would enable the Indian IT sector to compete with other countries globally. These incentives should especially help the small and medium businesses; a key growth sector that accounts for 40% of the exports made from software technology parks. Alongside, governments' focus on public-private partnerships will set the platform for growth in the long-run. Tax holiday incentives being introduced for the infrastructure sector at large, for power projects, and other large-scale development initiatives, would increase commitment from the industry leaders in these spaces to play more active roles. Technology based infrastructure such as broadband through traditional wired modes, or leapfrogging to wireless modes, would also ensure that inclusive growth involves every corner of the nation, and is not limited to urban India alone.

Naresh Wadhwa, president and country manager, India and SAARC, Cisco

India is prepared to take the onus of being global #1 in the telecom industry by 2014-15. We request the government to enable and provide support on five key challenges.

We need a roadmap for accelerating growth of broadband in India to reach 695 mn users by 2014, including 309 mn in rural India. Government should provide autonomy to USO Fund administrator for creation of broadband infrastructure by using the USO Fund. USO body should be given responsibility of laying down high-speed backhaul via fiber to the kerb (FTTK) infrastructure and provide a single window clearance and lower taxes for towers and digging. Planned auctions of 3G and BWA spectrum should be completed expeditiously so as to roll out these services by mid 2010. Government needs to address issues such as tower construction approvals, tower sharing, and standardization, providing backhaul for broadband connectivity to all villages, availability of power at reasonable price, and pragmatic approach for collection and usage of USO Fund, etc. Electricity should be available as a public utility in urban/semi-urban areas and at reasonable rates in rural areas. There should be a spectrum roadmap for 1 bn wireless users in India by 2014-15

Manoj Kohli, joint MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel, and chairman, CII National Committee on Telecom and Broadband

The potential for Internet usage is immense in India. A huge barrier in achieving the desired penetration of Internet in India is the cost of ownership of personal computers. We urge the Government of India to consider extending support to individuals by way of allowing deduction from personal income tax, to individual IT assesses-the cost of one PC whether desktop or laptop-on production of receipt of purchase from authorized vendors/sources. All corporations, whether public or private, should be allowed to give Rs 9,600 per annum as allowance to employees for broadband services access at home. India should not levy Service Tax on Internet and Broadband services. Moreover, the Government of India should also recommend all state governments to waive VAT/ sales tax on Internet/broadband services and classify them as 'services' not 'goods'

Rajesh Chharia, president, Internet Service Providers Association of India

We have concerns over the burden of multiple levies and duties imposed on the telecom sector, both at the central and state level. Our point is that the taxes levied by the center, which include annual license fee, separate usage charges for radio frequency spectrum, microwave access spectrum and microwave backbone, service tax, etc, should be reduced. COAI sought a reduction and rationalization of various duties and levies imposed on telecom at the central as well as the state level, in order to simplify the regime and enable a reduction in the cost of services. Keeping in mind the immense contributions of the telecom sector, it is both necessary as well as desirable that the telecom sector be treated at par with other infrastructure sectors as far as tax benefits are concerned. COAI is of the strong opinion that the requirement of quoting the PAN at the time of taking a mobile connection is increasingly becoming a hurdle which is hampering the spread of mobile services.

TV Ramachandran, Director General,Cellular Operators Association of India