Income will be higher as spectrum in 2,100-MHz band will also be auctioned
The proposals, to be based on the recommendations of the Shome panel, are likely to be introduced in the Finance Bill to be presented by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Budget for 2012-13.
The FIPB referred the matter to the law ministry today.
The 21-day coronavirus lockdown in force since Wednesday has triggered a mass exodus of migrant workers across the country since the last few days.
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.
Modi has appointed P K Sinha, who superannuated as cabinet secretary on Friday, as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), he said.
Communications Minister A Raja has shifted responsibility for holding auctions for third generation or 3G telecom services to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee by requesting him, in a letter last week, to ensure that the defence ministry releases the spectrum it had promised on time.
The proposal was put forward by Telecom and IT Minister Kapil Sibal who is on his four-day visit to Japan to attract investments in the Indian ICT sector.
A month after releasing the three-digit emergency number for women in Delhi, the government Monday said it will make available the '181' women helpline number to all states of the country.
The government needs to make the right policies and further execute them properly if it wants to move towards this goal
'There is a time for lowering one's expectations of the economy -- and therefore not trying to do too much in the Budget,' notes T N Ninan.
Jammu and Kashmir "was, is and shall forever" remain an integral part of India, a top Indian diplomat asserted at the UN Human Rights Council's meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, a day after Pakistan sought the international community's intervention on the Kashmir issue. Speaking at the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council which is being held in Geneva in Switzerland from February 24 to March 20, Vikas Swarup, secretary (west), the ministry of external affairs, described Pakistan as the "epicentre of global terrorism".
Chinese mobile brands are deeply entrenched in the Indian market. A move to bar them may send a bold diplomatic message. But its cost for the local industry is anybody's guess. In the event that Chinese brands face curbs, two handset makers - Samsung and Apple - squarely stand to gain.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has recommended up 62 per cent reduction in base price of premium 2G spectrum and up to 37 per cent in case of radiowaves freed from the cancellation of 122 licences, compared to the amount fixed for previous auction.
Axis Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, plunging more than 5 per cent, followed by HDFC, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and IndusInd Bank. On the other hand, M&M, Infosys, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers.
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.
Questioning the Bharatiya Janata Party's stand, former telecom minister Arun Shourie on Saturday said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should be allowed to make a statement on coal blocks allocation controversy and said the opposition did not gain much by stalling the Parliament over the issue.
Giving another twist to the 2G spectrum allocation controversy, a former comptroller and auditor general official has questioned the CAG's estimates of presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. "After completing the audit of the ministry of telecom, which was under my direct charge, I prepared a draft audit report covering each and every aspect. My report did not contain any loss figure," said former director general of CAG R P Singh.
The bidding for the airwaves is scheduled to start from November 12.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom Limited is expected to submit details of loans to two Indian minority shareholders this week to the finance ministry, which is looking into alleged breach of foreign direct investment norms in Hutch-Essar.
The Enforcement Directorate has questioned former telecom minister A Raja in connection with its money laundering probe in the 2G spectrum case. This is the first time that the ED has questioned Raja in the case.
It has made everything public in the name of 10 lakh comments it got on draft net neutrality proposals.
The government may liberalise external commercial borrowing rules in the next few days, especially for the infrastructure sector including capital-intensive ones like telecom, a Finance Ministry official said on Friday.
The telecommunications regulator had recommended last month that the reserve price for spectrum in the 900 megahertz band in some key cities be cut by about 60 percent, and also suggested a 37 percent cut in the reserve price for spectrum in the 1800 megahertz band.
Corporate affairs ministry note for ministerial group says can't keep banking, telecom out of CCI purview as RBI, Trai enable but not regulate competition
DoT sent the final Cabinet note to various ministries on Monday. The telecom companies have to comply with the FDI guidelines by January 2.
It is mystifying how the NSE, a near-monopoly, gets protection, as the February 24 episode shows, when it is competition and accountability that should be the regulatory objective, says Debashis Basu.
There were instances of 'rasta roko' at various places in rural Maharashtra
The Ministry had disallowed the group from taking part in auction.
The court issued notices to the Law Ministry and the DoT, rejecting their contentions that the same cannot be issued against them as they were not the parties to the case.
Government websites -- including those of the Prime Minister's Office, home and petroleum ministries, and the department of telecommunications -- were out of service for many hours on Monday. An official attributed the cause to firewall problems.
India's 100 top billionaires have seen their fortunes increase by Rs 12,97,822 crore since March last year when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country and this amount is enough to give 13.8 crore poorest Indians a cheque for Rs 94,045 each.
the Company Affairs Ministry has come out in support of Essar by asking FIPB to change guidelines that allow greater say to the Indian partner in the consultative process.
The government also wants to ensure that content meant for radicalising youths, from outfits like Islamic State, doesn't find circulation in India.
India Meteorological Department has predicted deficient rains.
DoT committee rejects most Trai suggestions for freeing airwaves for sale.
