Direct link to scholarships offered by  Govt. of India

List of Private NGOs offering scholarships

Hajj:

The Journey of a Lifetime

Click here for step by step Haj Guide

Ummid Assistant

Admissions open at AMU off campus centers Murshidabad and Malappuram (Kerala).

Welcome Guest! You are here: Home » National

What is the 2G spectrum scam about?

Monday November 15, 2010 12:01:35 PM, IANS

Related Article

Raja resigns over spectrum row, DMK relents

After adamantly refusing to resign, beleagured Communications and IT Minister A. Raja quit the cabinet late Sunday over the 2G spectrum controversy, ending an opposition-Congress standoff that  »

New Delhi: Here is a background on the 2G spectrum controversy that resulted in Communications and IT Minister A. Raja of DMK resigning Sunday:

The issue dates to 2008 when nine telecom companies were issued scarce airwaves and licences for second generation (2G) mobile phone services at Rs.1,658 crore (less that $350 million) for a pan-India operation. As many as 122 circle-wise licences were issued.

The opposition said that by giving the airwaves cheap, that too in the controversial manner of first-cum-first-served basis, the exchequer had lost billions of dollars. The cut-off date for applications was also arbitrarily advanced.

Later, based on the auction of airwaves for third generation (3G) services, which got nearly $15 billion to the exchequer, and that for broadband access, which fetched over $8.5 billion, the notional loss was estimated at $38 billion to the exchequer.

But Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself defended Raja's decision and said May 24 that all that his communications minister had done was to implement a policy already in place and none of the norms were flouted.

The opposition further stepped up its attack with two examples on 2G auction:

- A new player, Swan Telecom, bought licences for 13 circles with the necessary spectrum for $340 million but managed to sell a 45-percent stake in the company to UAE's Etisalat for $900 million. This swelled its valuation to $2 billion without a single subscriber.

- Another new player, Unitech, paid $365 million as licence fee but sold a 60-percent stake to Norway's Talenor for $1.36 billion, taking its valuation to nearly $2 billion, again without a single subscriber.

Similarly, another licensor, Datacom, later became Videocon Mobile and Stel now has large stake by Baharian Telecom. The other companies are Tata Tele, Idea Cellular, Loop Telecom, Shyam Telelink and Spice.

As recently as last month, the Supreme Court asked the solicitor general why the prime minister had not responded to the representation by the opposition to sanction proceedings against Raja.

The final blow came after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India said the entire process of spectrum allocation was undertaken in an arbitrary manner and that the advise of the industry watchdog was ignored and misused.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Bookmark and Share                                          Home | Top of the Page

Comment on this article

Name:
E-mail Address:
Write here...

News Pick

Americans in for an Indian cultural feast

Washingtonians are set for a lifetime experience as the prestigious Kennedy Centre here ends its long journey along the ancient Silk Route with "Maximum India", a celebration of the art and culture of India   »

Indian millionaire to buy British holiday firm

An Indian millionaire is in talks to buy Britain's holiday camp chain Pontin's for up to 15 million pounds. Bhanu Choudhrie, through his family's investment vehicle C&C Alpha Group, has teamed up with the Dubai royal family to look at   »

Many Delhi school kids drop out for work, marriage

The right to education act might have made education compulsory for children in the 6-14 age group, but very few government schools in Delhi seem to be aware of this as they have been allowing students to drop out on grounds  »

Lahore's British-era hall on road to ruins

The Bradlaugh Hall in Lahore, which bore witness to the freedom struggle and valiant freedom fighters like Lala Lajpat Rai, Surendranath Banerjee, Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Syed Attaullah Shah Bukhari, Jawaharlal Nehru and Bhagat    »

Stray violence marks nationwide Bangladesh strike

Stray incidents of violence marked the dawn-to-dusk nationwide strike called Sunday by the main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) to protest the eviction of party chief and former prime minister Khaleda  »

Children's Day: Fun for some, work for the rest

While kids across the country celebrated Children's Day with gaiety and aplomb, there were many like nine-year-old Sunil who sluggishly prepared tea and washed dishes near a railway station here, unaware of the  »

More Headlines

Pakistan's sole export is terror: Pakistani daily

Over seven million diabetics in Pakistan

Raja resigns over spectrum row, DMK relents

US asks Israel for 90-day freeze on settlement construction

Give one percent of earnings for education: Badal to Sikhs

Seven dead in blaze at French foreign-worker housing complex

IGNOU felicitates 41 South Asian students

Indian millionaire to buy British holiday firm

Nitish, Lalu, Paswan resume campaign after Chhath

Stray violence marks nationwide Bangladesh strike

Americans in for an Indian cultural feast

Wiped off streets for CWG, vendors scramble for living

Lahore's British-era hall on road to ruins

PM, Sonia meet Congress leaders over Raja

 

 

 

Top Stories

Hajj 2010: Pilgrims set out for Mina

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims began their slow and steady trek to the tent city of Mina on Saturday night in the first leg of their five-day journey. Almost all pilgrims will be in their tents by Sunday afternoon  »

Two million people to perform Haj this year

Health Guidelines for pilgrims to make Haj infection-free

 

Picture of the Day

 

  Most Read

Raja resigns over spectrum row, DMK relents

After adamantly refusing to resign, beleagured Communications and IT Minister A. Raja quit the cabinet late Sunday over the 2G spectrum controversy, ending an opposition-Congress »

Give one percent of earnings for education: Badal to Sikhs

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Sunday urged established Sikhs all across the world to contribute one per cent of their earnings to provide free quality education to poor children in the state. "We have called upon the Sikh intellectuals, representatives of social and religious  »

 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

RSS  |  Contact us

| Quick links

News

 

Subscribe to

Ummid Assistant

 

National

Religion

RSS

Scholarships

About us

International

Culture

Twitter

Government Schemes

Feedback

Regional

History

Facebook

Education

Register

Politics

Opinion

Newsletter

 

Contact us

Business

Career

     

Education

       

 

 

Ummid.com: Disclaimer | Terms of Use | Advertise with us | Link Exchange

Ummid.com is part of the Awaz Multimedia & Publications providing World News, News Analysis and Feature Articles on Education, Health. Politics, Technology, Sports, Entertainment, Industry etc. The articles or the views displayed on this website are for public information and in no way describe the editorial views. The users are entitled to use this site subject to the terms and conditions mentioned.

© 2010 Awaz Multimedia & Publications. All rights reserved.