The government has already shown wisdom in its actions in not rolling back the previous government's good schemes.
The author examines whether government levies on these critical inputs are beneficial or detrimental.
Despite missteps, Arvind Kejriwal and his party could move beyond an attacking strategy to improve our polity, says Shyam Ponappa
Inflation will persist until supply increases. So supply has to be addressed through structural reforms such as in telecom and power.
Only the Supreme Court can rectify spectrum management in line with other resources, but all stakeholders can contribute, writes Shyam Ponappa.
Telephony and broadband need innovative spectrum management.
India and China have the opportunity to develop strategic commercial interests that are mutually beneficial.
Emulate China's coordinated policies for strategic sectors, and we'll rely less on commodity exports.
As the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India deliberates on spectrum and licensing after the hearings ending December 2, some important points are worth highlighting.
The government can invest some of the Rs 100,000 crore from the spectrum auctions to help India catch up on broadband
The telecom majors should focus on improving service quality with a strong partner, and not on one-shot stake sales.
There are opportunities to repeat the success of NTP '99 with 3G and Broadband Wireless Access, says Shyam Ponappa.
'The telecom companies are our lifeline now, despite having nearly collapsed under debt because of ill-advised policies.' 'Perhaps our obvious dependence on telecom services will spark well-conceived policies for this sector,' says Shyam Ponappa.
For stressed loans, the need is to prevent disruption in cash flows from a systemic perspective, conserving employment and assets in untainted enterprises with the potential for recovery, says Shyam Ponappa.
Appropriate policies will increase connectivity much more than spectrum auctions, says Shyam Ponappa.
Cashless transactions need ubiquitous connectivity, which we don't have. And connectivity needs political and administrative convergence, says Shyam Ponappa.
The marketplace was simply not conducive to the extension and evolution of broadband networks, particularly for less dense rural markets, so connectivity and services suffered.
Make in India needs policy support for access to markets.
It's time the government accepts that Digital India is too distant.
Without cash flows, one can hardly aspire to better living conditions.
A basic problem is that the cost of spectrum and licences relative to earnings is too high.
Realistically, coal will be the major fuel for electricity generation in India, as in America, for a long time.
Examples of coordinated initiatives.
Railway Budget is the first indicator of possibly better days
India must change approach and have better access to networks to fulfil its digitisation dream.
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