India - 3G-spectrum auction issue likely to be resolved within a week

[sify] Telecom Minister A. Raja has said that the issue of auctioning 3G-spectrum to telecom companies is likely to be resolved this week.

Earlier, Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla had said that the government was not sure if it could conduct a 3G wireless spectrum auction before the end of the current fiscal.

The current fiscal ends on March 31.

"I hope everything will be resolved this week. It is not the question of money alone. It is the question of utilising the technology. We should not be lagging behind the international community," Raja announced on the sidelines of the launch of BSNL 3G mobile services in Bangalore.

"Government of India is committed, whether it is finance, whether it is law. As a whole, Government of India is committed to have this technology at the earliest possible," Raja added.

The government was expected to complete the 3G-auction by March, and it had estimated in July last year the spectrum allocation could raise up to 350 billion rupees.

If the auction is delayed beyond March 31, India's fiscal deficit might go beyond the currently projected 6.8 percent of the 2009-10 GDP.

3G-spectrum auction issue likely to be resolved within a week: A Raja