Mr. Stephen Timms, British Minister for E-Commerce
and Competitiveness met the Minister of State for Communications
and Information Technology, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan here today. Both
the Ministers discussed the subjects of mutual cooperation between
India and Britain and also discussed exploring the possibilities
of new initiatives and cooperation between the two countries.
Mr. Timms, who is on his first visit to India,
was highly impressed with the progress made by India specially
in the Telecom and IT sector. Smt. Mahajan apprised Mr. Timms
about the various steps being taken by the Indian Government in
the field of E-Governance, E-Commerce and also the status of Convergence
Bill. She said that the Convergence Bill was being studied by
the Parliamentary Standing Committee. She also informed the British
Minister that as far as the telecom sector is concerned, India
can match any developed country in terms of technology and services.
Smt. Sumitra Mahajan also raised the issue of
easing visa restrictions on mobility of ‘knowledge workers’ going
to Britain. Mr. Timms informed Smt. Mahajan that the visa regime
in Britain has not changed much and as far as Indian companies
were concerned, there was no problem for them if they recruit
Indian workers for working in UK. He also appreciated the initiatives
taken by the Indian Government in the field of E-Governance. Both
the Ministers agreed to establish contacts to evaluate cooperation
in the area of cyber crime. Senior officials of the Department
of Telecommunications(DoT) were also present during the meeting.
