India Looks to Attract More High-Tech Firms

India's government plans to offer a set of financial incentives in an effort to lure more high-tech manufacturers to set up operations in the country.

Indian Finance Minister Shri P. Chidambaram told the country's parliament last week that the government plans to assist high-tech manufacturers by investing in firms and offering "viability gap funding." The latter is aimed at offsetting costs incurred by new ventures because of India's infrastructure problems, which include poor roads, port facilities and communications capabilities.

The incentives will be available for three years, Chidambaram said. Some went into effect last week, while others depend on parliament approval of India's annual budget, which is expected within the next week or so.

Several major chip makers, including Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc., have design facilities in India. But they have been reluctant to set up fabrication plants in the country, partly because of the infrastructure issues.