Modi government should have settled down by now. In telecom sector, however, the industry is clueless what does this government want. Not that the industry expects any favours from the government, it simply wants the government to undo the wrong done by the 2G scam.
However, the new government has not given any indication that it wants to improve the system.
Even though the industry representatives had meetings with the Communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, it seems that there was not much communication between the two.
There are no indications that the minister has any concrete plans for the ailing PSUs – Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL).
During UPA II’s five years, there was no progress on the projects that were to be taken up on priority basis. In its last few months, the UPA government took extra-ordinary interest and completed tenders. Some projects are – Defence network project, NOFN, and Left Wing Area (LWA) project. The total value of the projects would be more than Rs 30,000 crore.
Smartly enough, UPA just completed tenders. Purchase orders are being awarded during NDA regime. The new minister has not taken trouble to review any of these tenders. It is his responsibility to ensure that there is no corruption.
On policy front, there is not much development. Nothing much has been done to boost the image of the industry that was once a poster boy of India’s economic liberalization. After 2G scam, no investor wants to come to India. There are many industry issues pending before the ministry.
There is a new secretary in the ministry. But BSNL and MTNL are headless. Directors have been made officiating CMDs. There is member (technology) of telecom commission. The position of member (services) will be vacant by the end of this month with no successor as yet. |