In an interim order on Monday, the Supreme Court directed that Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators may charge no more than 42 per cent of the rates paid by cable operators for TV channels.
India's status as the pharmacy of the world is at stake.
The trio has been voicing their criticism of Trai's recommendations and have asked the government to dump the report, which according to them are 'retrograde' and 'absurd'.
Telecom tribunal TDSAT on Monday rejected a contempt application filed by Anil Ambani group company Reliance Communications against Cellular Operators Association of India, for allegedly taking the legal battle on spectrum for a media trial.
The TDSAT scrapping the Trai's judgement on channel pricing is a major victory for broadcasters, but could also see consumer prices moving up.
The Trai's move comes in the wake of sector tribunal Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal rejecting last month a plea by some private mobile firms.
Congress preparing a dissent note on the issue
Trai member A K Sawhney had been acting as chairman since Nripendra Mishra retired on March 22 this year. Before joining Trai, Sarma was member of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal and is a well-known expert in the field, the regulator said.
Decisions are also being pushed on free allotment of additional spectrum to telecom firms, on extending the licence period for 'dual technology' firms like Reliance Communications/Tata Teleservices etc, and on revising merger and acquisition norms. Given how each of these cases is so controversial, even apart from the issue of propriety, it is unacceptable that a government on its last legs should be taking such decisions.
Bharti Group chairman Sunil Mittal on Tuesday said the unified licensing regime proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India could not be pursued in its present form, as it was in contradiction of the TDSAT judgement.
This has to be one of the most blatant tricks Raja is pulling off.
The move, if accepted, will help resolve nearly one-third of the 1,200 cases on payments pending in various courts in the country.
As a result of the TDSAT order, over 65 pay channels like Star One, Colors and Star Cricket would be able to raise prices, which were capped by Trai. The TDSAT rejected Trai's tariff order of October 2007 that had capped prices in different categories of cities based on population.
The petitioner said the companies were increasing the prices just to earn huge profit. Companies like Bharti Airtel had posted an annual profit of more than 90 per cent, the NGO said.
Congestion level is rising with surging mobile subscriber base resulting in loss of calls and poor quality of service, but the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India says it cannot issue show cause over this lapse as the matter is subjudice.
Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal has clubbed the two cases filed by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited challenging Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's decision to reduce the levy collected from private operators.
State-run BSNL on Saturday approached telecom tribunal TDSAT against sector regulator TRAI's decision to cut a levy paid by private operators to the public sector company for its rural operations.
A customer can also appoint a surveyor on his own expense
In a setback to state-run Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited, telecom dispute settlement tribunal TDSAT on Monday refused to grant a stay, through an nterim order, on implementation of the new Access Deficit Charge regime from February 1.
Telecom tribunal on Monday fixed April 2 as the date for hearing of petitions by Association of Basic Telecom Operators, Cellular Operators Association of India, Data Access and Bharti Telesonic against telecom regulator's IUC regime.
TDSAT has adjourned for a day the hearing on a petition filed on interconnect filed by cellular operators against basic players offering WLL.
TRAI said it will submit recommendations on the TDSAT's directive to work out a level playing field between the cellular and basic operators offering wireless in local loop services, to the government in 2-3 months.
Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal Monday permitted Bharat Sanchar Nigan Ltd and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd to go for downward revision of tariff of their cellular services without referring the proposals to Trai.
The recent 'revelation' by TN fishers freed by Sri Lanka after they had paid up Lankan rupees 50,000 each in fines, that their hair was tonsured in prison and they were forced to remove their garments other than the underpants, and were also made to clean toilets, as if with vengeance, has touched a raw nerve this time, just as another issue or issues had done it ahead of the Jallikattu protests, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
A crucial point anyone purchasing health insurance must heed is the need to declare PEDs.
Authorities will allow the country's taxpayers to access the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) for cross-border disputes. This is even if they had settled the case under the direct tax dispute resolution scheme - Vivad se Vishwas - without deviating from the outcome of the scheme, said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday. However, non-resident taxpayers, who opted for the resolution scheme, cannot go for MAP on the same issue, it clarified. MAP is an alternative dispute resolution mechanism under the tax treaties where competent authorities of two countries enter into discussions to resolve tax-related disputes.
Newly formed CCPA will now regulate false and misleading advertising and also take action to punish offenders, whether through fines, discontinuance, alteration of the ad, or even jail. ASCI as a voluntary, self-regulatory body, had no legal powers to enforce its actions.
Few big ticket road projects will be fast-tracked soon.
If you think that revenue officials are going berserk, acting on their own, while the government chants the mantra of 'ease of doing business', you would be wrong. These moves appear to have full official backing, points out Debashis Basu.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said as many as 37,506 tax dispute cases were pending before various Income Tax Appellate Tribunals having a financial implication of Rs 1.45 lakh crore at end March 2015.
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The Indian government has paid Cairn Energy Plc Rs 7,900 crore to refund taxes it had collected to enforce a retrospective tax demand, ending a seven-year-old dispute that had tarred the country's image as an investment destination. The company, which is now known as Capricorn Energy PLC, in a statement said it has received "net proceeds of $1.06 billion", of which nearly 70 per cent will be returned to the shareholders. The tax department had used a 2012 legislation, which gave it powers to go back 50 years and slap capital gains levies wherever ownership had changed hands overseas but business assets were in India, to seek Rs 10,247 crore in taxes from Cairn.
The Chinese inference is that if the Chinese visa is embossed on an Indian passport, held by Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, it may be tantamount to recognising Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, states Rup Narayan Das.
Delhi High Court says it can do so under the TRAI Act, rejects petitions filed by telecom associations.
The government has signed Bippas with 72 nations.
Vodafone had contended in its plea that DoT instead of signing and executing the ULs had at the last moment informed them that their request for deletion of 'restrictive' clauses in licence pertaining to roaming cannot be accepted.
