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.
Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal's personal website has been hacked and defaced by groups alleging Internet censorship and curbs on free speech.
Now, telcos will be penalised for call drops.
"There is no contractual agreement to give spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz. We are releasing more spectrum based on subscriber base as suggested by telecom regulator Trai," Raja said in the House while replying to a question. Spectrum is radio frequency used for offering wireless telecom services. Currently, spectrum allocation norms, which were revised in August 2007, are being followed while the Teleconm Enginering Centre report is awaited.
So far, most of those horrified by the dramatic evidence that surfaced last week of Telecom Minister A Raja's largesse on 2G spectrum costing the nation $10bn (that on 3G will probably cost another $5bn) have comforted themselves with one thought: maybe the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which is hearing the case, will conclude the policy changes were illegal and smacked of favouritism.
Citing former telecom minister A Raja's communication to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the 2G scam, Bharatiya Janata Party member Yashwant Sinha on Monday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, asking him to appear before the committee, following the allegations levelled against him. In his letter, Sinha said any hesitation on the PM's part to appear before the JPC will prove that he has "something to hide".
He said that the telecom ministry is in discussions with finance ministry and GSM operators to work out new charges for additional spectrum beyond 6.2 MHz. The minister also said his ministry is also talking to finance ministry on the issue of relaxing borrowing norms for aspiring 3G spectrum bidders.
Loop is one of the operators which have been named along with others in the entire case as it was awarded licence in 2008 by former Telecom Minister A Raja.
Stating that the Centre's focus is on promoting the country's IT sector, he pointed out that this move follows the rising import of electronic as well as IT items, including software and hardware, which is expected to reach $292 billion by 2020.
The developments came as the CBI custody of Raja, who was arrested by the investigating agency on February 2, ended on Thursday.
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.
The Central Bureau of Investigation was on Wednesday allowed two days transit remand of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa by a Mumbai court to take him to Delhi and confront him with former Telecom Minister A Raja, who is also in the agency's custody in connection with the 2G spectrum case.
Dismissing the view that the Supreme Court's judgement cancelling 122 2G licences was an indictment, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal on Thursday said that the government will move forward in the issue after regulator TRAI make its recommendations.
Gearing up for an Opposition attack over FDI during the upcoming Parliament session, the government on Friday asserted that it was ready to face any situation, including a no-confidence motion, even as it was reaching out to political parties to ensure passage of key bills
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.
The total outstanding dues against Bharti Airtel is Rs 11,235.50 crore.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Monday sent notices to former telecom minister A Raja and corporate lobbyist Niira Radia asking them to appear before the agency for questioning while grilling former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief Pradip Baijal in connection with the 2G spectrum scam.
'If you are going to have only a handful of telecom players on whom the entire dream of Digital India rests, it's important they are financially sustainable.'
As per data, call drop situation in Delhi has improved.
Central Bureau of Investigation officials raided former Telecom Minister A Raja's houses in Chennai and Delhi. The CBI also raided the houses of four telecom officials. The raids are being carried out at the residences of former telecom secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's personal secretary R K Chandolia, member telecom K Sridhar and deputy director general, Department of Telecom, A K Srivastava.
Bharatiya Janata Party on Sunday demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the then finance minister, when the 2G Spectrum allocation was made, P Chidambaram, give "proper reply" to former Telecom Minister A Raja's claim that the issue of sale of equity by spectrum licencees was discussed with them.
Terming the charges with regard to allocation of spectrum in 2008 against him as baseless, Telecom Minister A Raja on Monday said the allegations in no way have affected the day-to-day work.
The Joint Parliamentary Committee has given a clean chit to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 2G spectrum allocation, saying he was "misled" by the then Telecom Minister A Raja whose assurances stood "belied".
The government on Monday said that it had not violated any election code of conduct in connection with its ambitious direct cash transfer scheme as it was announced in the budget speech by the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Alleging that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance regime had distributed for free, 250 mega hertz of spectrum among the telecom operators, he told reporters, "The scam during the NDA regime could be worth much more than Rs 1.6 lakh crore."
The PAC's second draft report again targets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and then Finance Minister P Chidambaram. However, Chidambaram gets more brickbats while Dr Singh, the report says, was 'misled' by then Telecom Minister A Raja. Our Correspondent reports from New Delhi.
The Congress on Friday indicated that it will not seek any action against Telecom Minister A Raja after raids on the office of Department of Telecom (DoT) in connection with alleged irregularities in allocation of 2G spectrum to new players, saying the FIR only named officials.
Former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran, his brother Kalanidhi Maran and six others, including four companies, were on Friday chargesheeted by the CBI in a special court in the Aircel-Maxis deal case arising out of the investigation in the 2G spectrum allocation scam.
A meeting of Joint Parliamentary Committee examining 2G scam on Tuesday saw heated exchanges as Bharatiya Janata Party members demanded summoning of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and top PMO officials which was countered by Congress members with their own list of witnesses that included all National Democratic Alliance telecom ministers.
While Baba Ramdev walks the red carpet laid out by the government, we ask you our readers for your views on the issue.
The Apex Court has asked the minister and the two agencies to respond to the notice within the next ten days.
Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said they must offer good services to the customers if they want any help from the government.
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 government on Thursday tabled the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 in the Lok Sabha with an aim to protect the privacy of Indian citizens, while proposing a penalty of up to Rs 250 crore on entities for misusing or failing to protect digital data of individuals.
Prime Minister opportunistically engaged flawed leaders and regressed into NAM rhetoric during his UN visit, says K C Singh.
A Group of Ministers headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukhejree is likely to meet on Monday to vet London-listed mining group Vedanta Resources' $ 9.6 billion acquisition of Cairn India.
The auction for the 5G spectrum is likely to take place around April-May next year, Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Thursday. While relief measures announced in September this year for telecom operators marked the first set of reforms, the government will bring out a series of further reforms and "telecom regulatory structure should change in coming 2-3 years", Vaishnaw said. Speaking at the 'Times Now Summit 2021', the minister said India's telecom sector regulation has to be benchmarked with the global best, and added that "so, we will come with a series of reforms in this, such that the global benchmark of regulations is achieved in India".
India Inc pledges $75 bn on Digital India launch
A Delhi court on Wednesday refused to entertain a complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran for their alleged role in the 2G scam.
A Delhi court Friday dismissed a plea seeking lodging of an FIR against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran for their alleged role in the 2G case.
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