The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited [BSNL] – a jewel among the most profitable public sector undertakings [PSUs] of the union government and an entity that virtually monopolized the telecommunication sector over two decades ago – is reported to have sent an SOS to the department of telecommunication [DoT] – its nodal ministry – seeking immediate release of funds to enable it pay salaries to its employees for the month of June, 2019. This has led to consternation in industry circles with many commentators even questioning the very need to continue operations of this highest loss making PSUs [during 2018-19, it posted loss of Rs 13,804 crore] besides Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited [MTNL] – another one time jewel in the portfolio...
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Category: Infrastructure
Crossing environment hurdle under Modi era
On May 7, 2019, the ministry of environment and forest [MoEF] released a compilation of official documents on environment impact assessment [EIA] related issues. It encapsulates crucial notifications or office memoranda on the guidelines/procedures for environmental clearance for projects across industrial sectors. The compilation covers the period between December 2014 and January 2019 under the present dispensation led by prime minister, N Modi. The document looks mundane but is a window to see through momentous changes which have helped transform the economic landscape of India and have been greatly instrumental in putting the economy on to a high growth trajectory. To get an idea as to how, let us take a look at some of the key changes. On March...
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The job loss theory – a hoax
For more than an year, Congress has been running a orchestrated campaign to dent Modi’s image, its main focus being on the allegation that ‘he had failed to deliver on his promise of generating 20 million jobs every year’. At the outset, it is important to ascertain whether the prime minister really promised 20 million jobs a year? While, he stressed on creating jobs – a major poll plank of the party he leads viz. BJP – the figure found no mention neither in its election manifesto nor in any of his speeches. So, from where did this come? Delivering a speech in 2013, Modi had taken potshot at the then UPA – regime for closure of factories all over...
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Modi’s agenda for jobs
With the general elections only a few months away, the opposition parties have resurrected their attack on prime minister, N Modi for failing to generate 20 million jobs every year – that he promised during his campaign for 2014 elections. The tantalizing figure that arouses the emotions of common man in the street is being used by these parties as a potent weapon to ensure that Modi gets defeated even as they themselves have no vision – forget a comprehensive action plan – to create jobs. The contentious issue of what this prime minister has done and whether or not he has lived up to the aspirations of the youth in providing jobs of the required scale requires an objective...
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Stopping pilferage, enhancing welfare, boosting growth
Addressing NRIs and Indian-origin people at the inauguration of the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh on January 22, 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi referred to former premier Rajiv Gandhi’s remarks on corruption in the country saying Congress that ruled for years did nothing to stop the “loot”, while his Government put an end to it and transferred about Rs 5,80,000 crore directly to the people under various schemes. Modi recalled what Rajiv Gandhi had stated “of the funds Central Government sends, only 15 per cent of that reaches the people. If one rupee is sent from Delhi, only 15 paise reaches the villages, 85 paise disappear. Even as the country’s middle...
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Rafale deal – looking for corruption where there is none
During the last four-and-a-half years of his term, prime minister, Modi has brought about a metaphorical change in the very institution of governance – its central point being ‘honesty’ and complete ‘transparency’ in its wheeling-dealing with all stakeholders and the public at large. The running theme in all the governance processes is zero tolerance for corruption which is very aptly encapsulated in the euphemism coined by him ‘naa khaoonga, naa khane doonga’ [neither, I will take bribe nor let anyone else take]. Modi has not merely talked about it but demonstrated through his actions. Even his most ardent critics are unable to pinpoint a shred of evidence about corruption or nepotism in any of the departments/ministries or undertakings/agencies coming under...
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Telecomm – is the regulator siding with predator?
A little over 18 months ago, in a bizarre move rarely seen before in any part of the world, a Greenfield 4G operator viz. Reliance Jio [RJ] entered the Indian telecomm market with ‘free’ and ‘unlimited’ voice calls and low-cost data. After launching an introductory offer in September, 2016 for free – both data and voice for 6 months, from April, 2017, it charged data at throwaway price Rs 50 per GB, even as voice calls continue to be free ad infinitum. For a conglomerate [read: RJ] investing hundreds of thousands crores in laying infrastructure and paying heavily for purchase of spectrum, an attempt to sell services virtually for free was a brazen case of ‘predatory’ pricing with the sole...
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Removing judicial hurdles to accelerate growth
Recently, the Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Specific Relief Act, 1963, and a Bill viz. The Specific Relief [amendment] Bill, 2017 was introduced in the parliament on December 22, 2017. It deals with specific fulfillment of a contract as part of the Government’s ease of doing business policy. The amendments proposes that after two parties enter into an agreement and one of them breaks the contract, the affected party will have the freedom to get the contract executed by a third party. Also, the affected party can get costs and other expenses recovered from the party which broke the agreement [under the existing law, the courts grant monetary compensation in exceptional circumstances]. In case, the contract relates to infrastructure...
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Has Modi kept his pledge on jobs?
Modi – government has come under flak for not redeeming its pledge made in the election manifesto to provide 20 million jobs every year. On the face of it, the charge may stick as the actual job creation during the last three years of its stint is a few hundred thousand. But, on a closure look, it turns out that during the last 7 decades since independence, if there is any political dispensation that has worked sincerely and with full dedication for solving problems facing the people including unemployment, it is the present government. All those watching the actions of Team Modi ‘objectively’ and ‘dispassionately’ will not reach any other conclusion. On jobs, which depend on expansion of economic activity...
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Telecomm – incumbent operators assaulted yet again
Ever since Reliance Jio entered the fray about an year ago, telecommunication industry has plunged into a state of turbulence that shows no sign of receding. The turmoil has been aggravated by a recent decision of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India [TRAI] to reduce interconnect usage charges [IUC] – termination charge paid to the network operator on whose network calls terminate by the network from which the call originates – from the current 14 paise per minute to 6 paise per minute. From January 2020, the IUC will be zero. Even as the decision is in sync with the demand of Reliance Jio [RJ] for bill and keep [BAK] model – a jargon for zero IUC – this has...
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