Telecom Lead India: The Union Cabinet may consider the
National Telecom Policy (NTP) on Thursday.
Last week, the Cabinet deferred the NTP pending
clarifications on certain aspects by the Department of Telecom.
Departments under ministries like Finance and Commerce had raised objections on
the new rules in the proposed policy.
DoT has clarified on issues raised by various ministries on the draft note on
NTP.
The Department of Economic Affairs had observed that revenue maximization
cannot be secondary objective in NTP 2012.
DoT assured that whenever financial implications arise, a separate proposal
would be placed before the competent authority after following due process.
The DoT reiterated its stand that the primary goal of NTP is maximizing public
good by making available affordable, reliable and secure telecommunication and
broadband services across the entire country.
The Commerce Ministry had observed that preference to domestic manufacturers is
against the WTO agreement on subsidies. DoT clarified the clause for domestic
manufacturer is as per the decision of Cabinet on February 2.
India Telecom Policy: TRAI sends revised draft document
to DoT
In March, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
sent a revised draft document on National Telecom Policy 2012 to the Department
of Telecommunications (DoT).
How draft National Telecom Policy 2011 affect foreign
equipment vendors
Some of the recommendations in NTP 2011 will affect foreign
equipment vendors, for whom India and South Asia are the most
lucrative market for export of telecom equipment. In recent months, foreign
equipment vendors like NSN, Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and ZTE have expanded
their India presence, opening several R&D facilities, to jointly
manufacture telecom equipment in India. Since global markets are now facing a
cash crunch, investment in telecom equipment has dropped, so India reducing or
cutting off its telecom imports, will have drastic effects on foreign equipment
vendors.
