Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal will hold additional charge of the telecom ministry, official sources said on Monday.Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam leader A Raja was forced to put in his papers as the telecom minister on Sunday night due to his alleged involvement in the massive 2G spectrum scam.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appointed Sibal as the telecom minister, in spite of DMK chief Karunanidhi claiming that the key ministry will remain with the party.
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 government auditor CAG had estimated a presumptive loss of up to Rs 1.76 lakh crore (Rs 1.76 trillion) because of sale of spectrum in 2008 at 2001 prices.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday told a Delhi court that it would not oppose the bail plea of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa in the 2G case keeping in view the Supreme Court and High Court orders granting bail to other co-accused in the case.
If he implements former minister Dayanadhi Maran's plan to abolish domestic roaming charges, subscribers will cheer him, but he will also earn the ire of telecom companies.
Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, chargesheeted in the 2G spectrum scam, today told a Delhi court that the CBI should have named Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as one of the witnesses in the case.
In stark contrast with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendation that only Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) licence-holders should participate in 3G auctions, Communications Minister A Raja today suggested that foreign telecom companies, too, would be permitted to bid for 3G spectrum.
Rediff.com traces the life of Sadiq Batcha, a key aide of former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja who committed suicide on Wednesday
Contrary to common belief that celebrity inmates get 'special treatment', jail authorities say that they are not treated any different from other criminals. Sahim Salim takes a look.
"I do not want to boast (about) anything. The court's judgment has to be respected. I am glad that the court has pronounced unambiguously. All the massive propaganda which was being done against the UPA was without any foundation. The judgment speaks for itself," the former PM said.
Amid speculation that she will succeed A Raja as Telecom Minister, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP Kanimozhi said a decision on the issue will be taken by party president M Karunanidhi, even as she made it clear that the alliance with Congress is "as strong as ever".
On day when A Raja, jailed former minister of telecommunications, accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former finance minister P Chidambaram in a lower court while trying to drag them 'legally' in the 2G spectrum scam, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal also picked up none else but Raja's lawyer's argument.
The government on Monday asserted that there was no loss to the exchequer due to allocation of 2G spectrum to some telecom companies in 2008.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday said it had seized "incriminating" documents during searches at 14 places, including former telecom minister A Raja's residence, in connection with its probe into the 2G spectrum scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday apprised a Delhi court of its ongoing probe into the 2G spectrum scam following a direction on a private complaint filed by Janata Party chief Subramanian Swamy for trial of former Telecom Minister A Raja for his alleged role in the case.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said that although there is a huge gap in the prices of spectrum for 2G and 3G services, the whole issue needs to be seen in proper perspective.
The minister said that as committed earlier, the 3G spectrum would be distributed to all successful bidders on September 1 for launching services on commercial basis.
In wake of former Telecom Minister A Raja's accusation that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh was in the loop in the policy decisions taken by his ministry, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday demanded the appointment of a Special Investigation Team to investigate all the charges levelled against the Prime Minister's Office in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday submitted to the Supreme Court the status report on its ongoing investigations into the 2G spectrum allocation scam allegedly involving former telecom minister A Raja. The status report was submitted to the apex court registry in a sealed cover. The apex court, earlier on November 25, had castigated the CBI on why it had not questioned Raja and the telecom secretary in the case, saying the agency was 'beating around the bush'.
With his resignation as telecom minister, A Raja appeared to have saved himself from any mention in the Supreme Court today in the controversial 2G case, with petitioners seeking more time to file submissions on the report of the CAG that is to be placed in Parliament.
The Sam Pitroda Committee, set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to devise methods to revive BSNL, has recommended rationalisation of 300,000 staff of BSNL to stem human resource costs.
Indicting the Prime Minister's Office but letting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh off lightly on failure to decide on prosecuting the then Telecom Minister A Raja in the 2G case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday set a limit of four months for deciding the issue of sanction for prosecution of corrupt public servants.
Deputy leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party in Rajya Sabha, S S Ahluwalia made it clear during his interaction with mediapersons on Saturday that his party would settle for nothing less than a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe in the 2G telecom scam.
With the Central Bureau of Investigation seeking revocation of his close aide Balkrishna's passport, yoga guru Ramdev on Monday targeted Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram demanding action against them following former telecom minister A Raja's statement in court that 2G allocation was done with their consent.
The department of telecom is currently looking into guidelines relating to spectrum allocation and other financial criteria like net worth of the applicant for the purpose of awarding new licences.
New Communications Minister A Raja is likely to opt for a global auction of third generation technology licences, a move that will allow virtually any global operator to bid for offering this service in India.
'Did you see my pamphlet?' Andimuthu Raja, the 2G scam-tainted DMK MP from Nilgiri, asks Rediff.com's Saisuresh Sivaswamy. 'Two things are very clear. One, that I did not have any disproportionate wealth, as per the CBI's contention before the court. And there has been no loss to the exchequer, which has been admitted by the joint secretary. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act these two things are very important, and that has been ruled out.'
Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari on Monday demanded the resignations of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister P Chidambaram in the wake of former telecom minister A Raja's claim that both of them were aware of his decisions about the 2G auction.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday alleged that the taped conversation between former Telecom Minister A Raja and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia shows that the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram played a role in the 2G spectrum scam.
The special court hearing the 2G case on Monday reserved the bail order for the 17 accused in the case, including Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam Member of Parliament Kanimozhi, till November 3.
Other members of the search panel are secretary (personnel) Shantanu Consul, telecom secretary P J Thomas, IIT Chennai professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIM Ahmedabad professor Samir Baruha and IISC Bangalore professor N Balakrishnan.
The Supreme Court has cancelled the grant of 2G licences stating that 122 licences for 2G spectrum were granted in arbitrary and unconstitutional manner.
If Reliance Jio resets the rules of the game with low voice and data tariffs, most incumbents will find themselves back to square one.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said that the allotment of 2G spectrum licences by the Union ministry of telecommunications to private companies was 'the largest scam in Independent India' and it had cost the government Rs 60,000 crore (Rs 600 billion).
Amidst the flurry of allegations against former telecom minister A Raja and the strong indictment of his handling of 2G spectrum allocation, the controversy is taking a dramatic new turn with hitherto unpublished documents indicating that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh may have some clarifications to make.
Maintaining the zero-loss claim, therefore, involves justifying the failure to do proper price discovery, as through the spectrum auction in 2010 for 3G services.
Company says it has been the victim of a 'mischievous' campaign by rivals.
The proposal gains significance because the merger plan was given a quiet burial under former telecom minister A Raja.
Both the Houses of Parliament adjourned amid opposition demands for resignation of Telecom Minister A Raja for his alleged involvement in the reported scam in allocation of 2G spectrum on Monday.
When educated ministers like Kapil Sibal and P Chidambaram are forced to defend the indefensible it shows a certain desperation in the top power structures in the ruling UPA, says Virendra Kapoor.
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