The home minister will also review the preparation for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage set to start on June 29.
'India's fundamentals are a lot better (than those of other emerging market economies).' 'India will suffer (witness a fall in its stock market) what I call the second order effect.' 'And the second order will happen when these funds (belonging to macro and hedge fund investors and which have leveraged Japanese yen-carry trades), because they lose money elsewhere as lot of their positions were financed by borrowing Japanese yen, will have to book profits in investment destinations where they are making money, including in markets like India.' 'They (these investors) will have to effectively sell in countries like India and which is the consequence (the crash in equity markets) that Indian markets might see.'
Chip giant Qualcomm chief executive Cristiano R Amon and billionaire Gautam Adani on Monday discussed role of AI, semiconductors and edge appliances across markets in the fast changing global technology space. The two leaders met in Mumbai on Monday morning to discuss India's potential around semiconductors, AI and mobility, according to a social media post by Adani. While Qualcomm is big on designing and manufacturing semiconductors and wireless telecommunications products, Adani group had in 2022 bought a small quantity of fifth generation or 5G spectrum for private captive network deployment in ports, logistics and power generation among others.
CDMA-based telecom operators have got a shot in the arm with a parliamentary committee recommending that the government allot the crucial 1,900 Mhz spectrum to players using this technology for expansion of services.
Reliance Jio submitted the highest pre-auction deposit.
On all other issues, including the future of licences given to incumbents before 2008 on the controversial first-come-first-serve basis and dual technology licences, the status quo will be maintained, meaning there is no question of any cancellation, say experts and telecom companies.
The Budget estimate of 2009-10 includes a sum of Rs 35,000 crore as expected revenue from auction of 3G spectrum, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Budget papers.
The apex court on February 2 last year cancelled 122 licences for the 2G spectrum and had directed the DoT to hold fresh auction for them within four months which has been extended by interim orders from time to time.
Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday approached the Delhi high court seeking its directions to the prime minister to take a decision on granting sanction to prosecute Telecom Minister A Raja for his alleged involvement in 2G spectrum allocation scam.
Virtually rejecting the proposal of a major telecom player for levying a hefty entry fee of Rs 1500 crore (Rs 15 billion) for spectrum to start third generation mobile services
Ahead of its Rs 18,000 crore further public offer (FPO), Vodafone Idea on Monday said it expects to roll out 5G services in select pockets within 6-9 months of raising fresh capital. Its chief executive Akshaya Moondra said rollout of the modern 5G telecom services is one of the objectives of raising the capital from the public and once the funding comes, it will start work on the rollout. "With this round of funding, we believe we will be able to (come) back to participate in the industry growth which has not been possible," he said.
'Banks make money because they take the right credit calls. So they need to focus on risk mitigation rather than risk avoidance.'
The Department of Telecommunications has raised demand of around Rs 877.6 crore from Vodafone as spectrum charges for the period between 2008-09 and 2011-12, sources said.
A presentation by the CBI to a Joint Parliamentary Committee last week said the decision led to a loss of Rs 508 crore to the exchequer.
The 700-Mhz spectrum band ranges from 698 Mhz to 806 Mhz and has been identified by the International Telecommunication Union for telecom services.
'I think because India is a bigger country and Bollywood is such a well-oiled machine, the star thing has become so much bigger than the actor thing.'
Central Bureau of Investigation Director AP Singh will appear before the Joint Parliamentary Committee probing the 2G scam on Tuesday. This follows the appearance of Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai before the committee last week.
There are different prices for spectrum up to contracted limit of 6.2 Mhz and for additional airwaves.
Telecom companies put in bids worth a total of about Rs 45,000 crore (Rs 450 billion) on the second day of the auction on Tuesday, with premium 900 Mhz band in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata witnessing continuing demand.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday lauded World Athletics' decision to award USD 50,000 to all its gold-medallists in the Paris Olympic Games and said he would like to see such incentive being given in other global competitions as well.
Department of Telecom may favour TRAI's proposal of reduction in spectrum charges from 6 per cent to 4 per cent of the adjusted gross revenue as it involves no financial hit on the government.
KKR will look to iron out their flaws and get the better of a misfiring Mumbai Indians during their IPL match on Friday.
The auction of 2G spectrum might be delayed, as the government may file a petition in the Supreme Court for an extension of the timeline. According to current SC directive, the auction has to be conducted by August 31 this year. However, due to procedural delays, the department of telecommunications is looking at extending the timeline.
The former Chief of Army Staff said India faces the most complex threats and challenges spanning a full spectrum of possible conflict -- from nuclear to sub-conventional -- but asserted that the armed forces are ready to deal with them.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to break his silence and personally clear the air on the allocation of the scarce S-band spectrum, dubbing it a "mega scam."
Chandrasekhar's letter seeks to convey the impression that the Tata Group kept quiet when it stood to benefit from violations of norms.
All the top telecom firms, including Airtel, Vodafone, Idea, Aircel, RCom and Tatas would be participating in the e-auction process, the first of its kind in the world, to acquire 3G spectrum for which the auction begins on April 9.
The Department of Tele-communications is close to allocating start-up spectrum in seven more circles, in addition to Tamil Nadu, where the process is set to begin next week. According to the telecom ministry's plan, the companies would get 4.4 MHz each and the allocation would be completed within a fortnight.
According to sources, spectrum was available in the range of 50-60 MHz in nine states and was sufficient to accommodate all the new players as well as demand from the existing operators. However, in some important circles like Delhi, only one of the new players could get initial spectrum. Some of the existing players have objected to the move, saying allocation of spectrum at this juncture would be illegal as the matter is subjudice.
Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai on Monday briefed the Public Accounts Committee about his report in the 2G spectrum allocation. His report on a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore in 2G spectrum allocation had created a storm in Parliament and outside. The PAC, headed by Bharatiya Janata Party veteran leader Murli Manohar Joshi, is examining the controversial allocation of 2G radio waves and Rai apprised the committee of how the audit looked into the whole issue.
An Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, will seek legal opinion from Attorney General on its decision to charge around Rs 27,000 crore one-time spectrum fee from existing telecom operators.
In a move that will result in further snowballing of the spectrum issue, British telecom major Vodafone has termed the Reliance Communications' (RCom) allegations "as false and inconsistent with the facts".
Corporate giant Tatas on Tuesday asked the government to seek surrender of excess spectrum lying with GSM operators, a line being aggressively pursued by Reliance Communications chief Anil Ambani. With this, the top two CDMA players have joined forces against GSM operators like Bharti and Vodafone to seek return of spectrum beyond the contractual amount of 6.2 Mhz.
The principal delay is because the defence forces, which are expected to vacate some spectrum for mobile service providers, are yet to identify locations for some sites for an alternative optic fibre network that is being developed for them.
Spectrum is critical for Tata Tele because in some circles, Rajasthan for example, it has spectrum only in 60 per cent of the geography, while allocation for the rest has yet to come from the government.
