Telecom sector has seen phenomenal growth over the past decade or so, says the prime minister.
Since August 2013, FIPB has approved two FDI proposals in the telecom sector.
A day ahead of the interim Budget, India slashed import duty on spare parts, like battery cover, lens and SIM socket, used in mobile phone manufacturing to 10 per cent, from 15 per cent. The duty cut is aimed at boosting local production and exports, as well as reducing prices in local markets. The finance ministry on January 30, notified the cut in duty on all goods for use in manufacture of cellular mobile phones to 10 per cent.
The recommendations of the commission will now be put before the empowered group of ministers headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram for a final decision.
On Monday, Attorney General R Venkataramani, appearing for the Centre, mentioned an interim application before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice J B Pardiwala.
Signalling both change and continuity, India's new government, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a third consecutive term, got into work gear on Tuesday with cabinet ministers and ministers of state filing into their respective offices to assume charge.
'There is definitely a skill war, or a talent war going on.'
Telecom regulator TRAI on Tuesday released a detailed consultation paper to discuss threadbare the modalities for auction of spectrum across multiple bands, including pricing, quantum and other conditions -- preparing the groundwork for 5G auctions slated for next year. Trai's comprehensive consultation paper runs into 207 pages and throws up 74 questions for industry-wide discussion, touching on crucial aspects like valuation and reserve price of spectrum, including 5G, quantum of spectrum, block size, eligibility conditions for participation in auction, roll-out obligations, spectrum cap, and surrender of spectrum. Norms will also be worked out for new frequencies such as 526-698 MHz and millimetre band, that is 24.25 - 28.5 GHz, in addition to bands such as 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz.
Private telecom operators have managed to grab 43 per cent of the total revenue generated from telecom services during 2004-05, says a leading communications business magzine.
The other stressed sectors, according to Chidambaram, are infrastructure, steel, construction, textile and food processing.
Most brokerages are betting that the new government will shift to a policy focussing on boosting rural incomes and consumption since that has clearly been a pain point.
he meeting is part of Sibal's efforts to achieve the 100-day plan for reforms in the telecoms sector in consultation with the industry.
DoT plans to initiate move that might lower the revenues telcos share with government.
While smart boys like the Ruias of Essar, Ajay Piramal, Max India promoter Analjit Singh laughed all the way to the bank, the Tatas, Anil Ambani, Malaysian tycoon T Ananda Krishna of Maxis (which invested in Aircel), Sistema, and Norway's Telenor burnt their fingers, notes Surajeet Das Gupta.
The Northeastern states are plagued by low tele-density and inadequate telecom services, hindering economic growth and development, a study said.
Aadhaar authentication is an online real-time service and only responds with a yes or no.
The intensifying tariff war among telecommunication players in India is likely to result in consolidation of smaller, regional and startup operators in the telecom space, global research firm Macquarie says.
After announcing his re-entry into telecom a few days ago following a patch-up with younger brother Anil Ambani, Reliance Industries' chairman Mukesh Ambani on Friday said that prospects of the sector were much brighter now than they were at the time when he had spearheaded the undivided group's foray.
Companies such as Tata Sons and Bharti Telecom, which are unlisted but have listed subsidiaries, may soon have to file periodic financial statements with the registrar of companies under the new provision of the Companies Act. The provision requires greater financial disclosures by a certain category of unlisted companies.
We asked colleagues, present and past, to reflect on a man who has made such a difference to their lives and careers. Here it is then, a rich collection of memories that offer enchanting glimpses of the enigmatic Ajit Balakrishnan.
I hope those who underestimate Rajeev Chandrasekhar will be proved wrong in this fight for Thiruvananthapuram's future, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
The World Bank has asked the government to cut a slew of duties, including entertainment tax on broadband Internet connections in some states, on telecom services.
Excise duties on mobile phones to be 1% without CENVAT credit or 6% with CENVAT credit. This provision will have marginal impact on telcos.
The attached properties include 14 assets of Tuteja worth Rs 15.82 crore, 115 properties of Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, worth Rs 116.16 crore, properties of Vikash Agarwal alias Subbu worth Rs 1.54 crore and 33 properties of Arvind Singh worth Rs 12.99 crore, it said in a statement.
RIL should wait-and-watch before investing in telecom sector.
The company said that intense competition following the disruptive entry of a new player, legal and regulatory challenges, high level of unsustainable debt and increased losses had together caused significant "negative business and reputational impact".
Mukesh's television unit has been aggressively wrapping up deals with hundreds of small players in a street-by-street effort to conquer that final hurdle in its cable TV drive
The government said on Monday that it will soon come out with a uniform and single licence fee for telecom service provider, which is currently between 6 and 10 per cent of the revenue of these companies.
The latest telecom war kicked off after some pictures surfaced, showing Airtel banners among agitating farmers. According to the Jio camp, it was a giveaway that farmers were being enticed to port their phone numbers.
Reliance Industries Ltd on Friday reported a 9 per cent rise in its December quarter net profit as a planned maintenance-induced weakness in oil business earnings was offset by stability in retail and telecom verticals. The oil-to-retail-to-telecom conglomerate's consolidated net profit of Rs 17,265 crore, or Rs 25.52 per share, in October-December - the third quarter of the current 2023-24 fiscal - was 9.3 per cent higher than Rs 15,792 crore, or Rs 23.19 a share, earning a year back, according to a company statement. Quarter-on-quarter, the profit was lower when compared to Rs 17,394 crore earnings in the preceding three months ended September 30.
Investors with a 3-4 year time horizon should pick up telecom stocks.
Ailing telecom operator Vodafone Idea has flagged the industry's "unsustainable financial duress" in its latest annual report and hoped that the government would provide the necessary support to address "all structural issues" faced by the sector. In the chairman's letter to shareholders, Himanshu Kapania cited persistent challenges in the operating environment, amid "unsustainable pricing" and "hyper-competition" during FY21. Kapania expressed hope that government will support efforts to generate reasonable returns on massive investments.
Sibal said that Trai had compared India with China.
Total revenue dropped by 10.5 per cent to Rs 19,634 crore in the fourth quarter of 2017-18
Foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows in India declined 24 per cent to $20.48 billion in April-September 2023, dragged by lower inflows in computer hardware and software, telecom, auto and pharma, according to government data. FDI inflows stood at $26.91 billion during the first six months of the last fiscal. Inflows during January-March 2023 also contracted 40.55 per cent to $9.28 billion.
FLAG Telecom, a Reliance group company has denied media reports alleging that it has resorted to high pricing impacting the growth of Indian business process outsourcing units and information technology enabled services.
It emerges that Vi has probably offered good data quality despite being short on spectrum and infrastructure due to its stretched finances. Did the two companies that merged face the heat due to price wars? Probably. Did the government's tough stance in demanding its "due" share of telecom revenues hurt the company? Certainly!
The government's financial package to telecom operators has irked the paging industry which has filed a petition in TDSAT, seeking compensation from the government saying that cellular operators were "killing" them by offering SMS facility.
