The Telecom & Information Technology (IT) ministry has sought changes in the import duty structure for import of telecom & IT components in order to provide a boost to domestic manufacturing of these components, Kapil Sibal has revealed.

Telecom & IT minister Kapil Sibal said that zero duty on imports of IT components makes it cheaper to import these components from foreign countries rather than manufacturing them in the country.

Mr. Sibal stressed that there was an urgent need to do something on the import duty structure to make imports of IT components less attractive.

Speaking on the topic, he said, "It is cheaper to import the components with zero duty and sell the product rather than manufacturing here. Making import dearer will help in developing the manufacturing industry here."

The Telecom & IT Minister added that he was optimistic that Finance Minister P Chidambaram would announce some steps in the upcoming Budget to encourage the Indian industry.

Mr. Sibal cautioned that if domestic manufacturing of IT components was not encouraged, the total import bill for electronic components would reach $320 billion by the year of 2020, which would be even bigger than the import bill for crude oil.