Even more curious, while the law says foreigners can have only up to 74 per cent equity in a telecom firm in India, the 3G Information Memorandum says foreigners can bid without having Indian partners if they win the bid, they can then set up an Indian firm and comply with the rules.
The accused had also requested the court to take on record the written answers afresh.
Former telecom minister A Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi and 17 others were on Friday chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a special court in connection with a money-laundering case relating to the 2G spectrum allocation scam in which the party-run Kalaignar TV was allegedly paid Rs 200 crore by the promoters of Swan Telecom.
The fear of another scam pushed the government into a rather long period of so-called 'policy paralysis'. To play it safe, the price of spectrum in all subsequent auctions was benchmarked to the high 3G rates, says Surajeet Das Gupta.
The CMM was appointed as commissioner to record 84-year-old Ammal's testimony by a Special CBI Court, holding trial in the case, in the wake of the Supreme Court's direction.
CBI on Monday submitted a list of five witnesses, including Anil Ambani, who are scheduled to be called for recording of their statements before the court.
With the heat over the 2G telecom spectrum scam rising, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Thursday recommended the cancellation of 34 telecom licences of companies, including Etisalat, Uninor, Loop Telecom and Siestema, due to non-compliance of roll-out obligations.
A special Central Bureau of Investigation court on Monday issued a non-bailable warrant against Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi, facing trial in the 2G spectrum case, for non-appearance only to cancel it in less than an hour after her counsel appeared before the court and apologised for the same.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi on Thursday sought the dismissal of a Central Bureau of Investigation plea seeking special court's permission to summon some additional witnesses, including Enforcement Directorate Deputy Director Rajeshwar Singh, in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Former Telecom Minister A Raja, Dravid Munnetra Kazagham MP Kanimozhi and seven others, chargesheeted by the Enforcement Directorate in a 2G scam-related money laundering case, were on Wednesday granted bail by a special Central Bureau of Investigation court.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday refused to grant early hearing on the Central Bureau of Investigation's appeal challenging the acquittal of former Union telecom minister A Raja and others in the 2G spectrum allocation scam case.
The investigating agency wants to ascertain the actual purpose of the deal.
CBI prosecutor K K Goel opposed the application saying it was "dragging the trial" and noted that Anil Ambani too had filed a similar plea earlier.
A Delhi court on Saturday issued fresh summons to Reliance ADA Group Chairman Anil Ambani and his wife Tina Ambani to appear as prosecution witnesses before it next month in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
Justice Brijesh Sethi held that the 2018 amendment to the Prevention of Corruption Act relating to Section 13 (1)(d) would not come to the rescue of the acquitted accused in this appeal.
A special court on Friday framed charges against former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi and others under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the 2G spectrum scam related to money laundering.
Balwa, who is accused along with 16 others in the case, claimed that he cannot be prosecuted for pushing back Tata in the race as the firm was never in the race to get the 2G spectrum licence
The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday claimed that additional "evidence" had emerged about 2G spectrum scam showing alleged roles of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi, his daughter Kanimozhi and a top police officer of Tamil Nadu.
The court said a 'scam was created when there was none'.
The high court's order came on a plea by acquitted individual and Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd director Asif Balwa that the CBI has not placed on record the mandatory authority under the provisions of the CrPC.
Soon after a special CBI court acquitted all those accused the 2G spectrum allocation case, Somesh Jha spoke to DB Realty Managing Director Vinod Goenka at the crowded Patiala House premises.
The government may tweak customs duties in the Budget next week on several goods, including furniture raw materials, copper scrap, certain chemicals, telecom equipment and rubber products, to promote domestic manufacturing and exports, sources said. They said that while import duties could be tweaked on over 20 products such as cut and polished diamonds, rubber goods, leather garments, telecom equipment and carpet, the customs duties could be removed on select raw materials (like wood in rough, swan wood and hard board) used for furniture manufacturing and copper concentrate.
Somesh Jha describes the mood at Patiala House courtroom and outside on Thursday during the 2G spectrum case verdict.
According to sources in the agency, the counsel had been briefed about its stand which includes informing the apex court about 'certain moles' in the probe agency who were providing documents to people outside.
In a setback to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam member of Parliament Kanimozhi and seven others, a Delhi court on Thursday dismissed their bail pleas in the 2G spectrum allocation case.
The move gains importance after two new telecom players -- Swan and Unitech -- sold stakes to foreign companies at high premiums after the allocation of spectrum. The Left parties had also accused Telecom Minister A Raja of underselling spectrum that cost the national exchequer around Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion).
Amidst the controversial sale of stake by two new telecom operators, Swan and Unitech, at a huge premium, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Thursday recommended a three-year lock-in period for stake sale by companies, which have recently got licences, in a bid to prevent them from making windfall gains overnight.
Addressing a hurriedly called press conference to clear his position in the wake of Left parties demanding a probe, alleging Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion) loss to the exchequer in spectrum allocation, the minister said that Trai recommendations were followed in letter and spirit.
New telecom operators such as Swan, Unitech, Datacom and Loop, and Reliance Communications have asked regulator Trai to reduce the termination charges, while existing GSM players, led by Bharti, want the 30 paise per minute charge to continue.
Going by application dates, companies like Spice, Birla-promoted Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications (through Swan and Cheetah) and Hindustan Futuristic are in the lead for licences in different circles. The only new player in the list is the little-known ByCell.Several incumbents like Idea Cellular, Maxis-Aircell, owned by a Malaysian promoter, and Vodafone-Essar lead the list of applicants for initial spectrum allocation since they already hold licences.
Though Indians were no strangers to scams, spectrum loss was beyond their wildest imagination.
The telephone subscriber base was 996.49 million at the end of March.
Investing in special situations can help you tap opportunities that arise during adverse conditions, advises Joydeep Sen.
Just before the 2008 financial crisis made headlines, Indian companies were on a global buying spree. In the fifth part of the series, Dev Chatterjee and Krishna Kant discuss how the crisis came as a black swan event for some, changing the mood from exuberance to despair.
The judgment in the 2G case is a huge, huge, indictment of the criminal investigation and justice system, says R Jagannathan.
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