In what could give a big relief to new mobile players, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is unlikely to cancel 53 licences - as recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) - for non-fulfilment of rollout obligations.
The department of telecommunications has referred the issue of using multiple technologies under a single unified access services licence to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
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.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Friday hit out at cellular operators' reported move to sue it over unified licencing regime saying countries worldwide were moving towards the same.
Telcos propose licence regime for apps like WhatsApp, Skype.
Out of total 5,842 registered water packaging units, 1,495 units have both BIS and FSSAI licences, while 4,347 units have only BIS certification.
The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking demanded on Thursday that the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission revoke the licence of Reliance Energy (REL) and give BEST the right to supply power to Mumbai suburbs. At present, REL caters to the suburban areas and BEST a major part of the city. In fact, MERC had asked both BEST and REL to sign power purchase agreements with TPC.
The regulator has suggested that all spectrum will be auctioned as opposed to the current policy of bundling it with a 2G licence. A beginning has been made with the auctioning of spectrum for 3G services, which is due later this year. Trai has also suggested that licences for any telecom service should be auctioned as opposed to the current policy, where it is given on a first-come-first-served basis. The new policy is expected to be ready by the end of December this year.
The rules are being framed to maintain absolute transparency and fair play in investigations.
The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has granted seven authorisations to companies for selling automobile (auto) fuels in the country. These new approvals are under the relaxed guidelines for authorisation to market transportation fuels that were revised in 2019. This is expected to make the competition more intense in India's petroleum retail business. According to a top oil ministry official, a fresh marketing authorisation has been granted to Reliance Industries (RIL) under these norms. This is being done since RIL's existing retail marketing authorisation has been transferred to its subsidiary Reliance BP Mobility
As many as 80-85 per cent Paytm wallet users will not face any disruption because of regulatory actions, and the remaining users have been advised to link their apps to other banks, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Wednesday. The Reserve Bank of India on January 31 barred Paytm Payments Bank Ltd (PPBL) from accepting deposits, credit transactions, or top-ups in any customer accounts.
Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market capitalisation, and GAIL India, the largest transporter and marketer of gas, have sought licences to sell natural gas to households and vehicles across 60 cities in India.
The Reserve Bank of India has formulated strategic polices to enhance growth in banking sector.
Trai has recommended reduction in licence fee, including spectrum charges, to 5% for PMRTS operators to facilitate growth in the sector.
A bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGOs 'Common Cause' and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, that the plea needed to be listed for hearing at the earliest.
The Telecom Ministry, which has sought a legal opinion on cancellation of some telecom licences for failure to meet roll-out deadlines, on Friday said the process of issuing notices over 35 licenses will be completed by March next year.
Notwithstanding the controversy over the proposed unified licencing regime, Telecom Regulatory Authority is all set to make a presentation on Saturday before the Group of Ministers on telecom on its recommendations on the issue.
The Telecommunications Bill, 2023, which was passed by a voice vote after a short debate, also allows the Centre to take possession of a telecom network in case of any public emergency or in the interest of public safety.
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.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday said it would come out with the final consultation paper on full unification of telecom services in a "couple of weeks."
The Supreme Court has cancelled the grant of 2G licences stating that 122 licences for 2G spectrum were granted in arbitrary and unconstitutional manner.
India is one of the largest manufacturers of pharmaceutical products in the world with the annual production valued at over Rs 2 lakh crore.
The RBI will display names of applicants on its website.
Parliament has cleared the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2023, recently. The objective of the Act is to invite investments from the private sector, including foreign companies, for mining minerals such as lithium and other critical minerals. Other than lithium, some of these minerals were classified as atomic minerals, including beryl and beryllium, niobium, titanium, tantalum and zirconium.
Migration to the unified licence regime could cost Reliance upto Rs 1,000 crore and Tatas Rs 500 crore, according to estimates being worked out by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
After the screening, the shortlisted candidates will be vetted by an external committee, to be headed by former RBI governor, Bimal Jalan.
The taxi-hailing company said it will challenge the decision, which shows the world that "far from being open, London is closed to innovative companies".
The transition of Class A and Class B medical device makers to the licensing regime by October 1 seems to be an uphill task with several small and medium manufacturers saying they are still awaiting the audit from the government authorities. If the licenses don't come through, either due to lack of audits or MSME units not clearing the audits, then a few thousand small-scale medical device units will face the issue of business continuity in three weeks. Class A medical devices are those with low to moderate risk to the patient or user (surgical dressings for example), while Class B medical devices refer to devices with moderate risks that require special controls (catheters for example).
