Friday, February 19, 2010

India - DoT may get ‘poor' rating if it doesn't finish 3G auction by June

[the hindu] In a bid to put telecom reforms on fast track, the Government has set deadlines with ratings and weightage for completing various policy measures being undertaken by the Department of Telecom, including auctioning of 3G spectrum by June.

Under a Results Framework Document (RFD) prepared by the Government, the DoT will get a ‘poor' rating in case it fails to complete the 3G and broadband wireless spectrum auction by June 30. If the DoT completes the auction process by April 30 then it will get a ‘good' rating and if it's done by March 20 then the rating will move to ‘excellent'. The Government has also given maximum weightage of 30 points for pushing through with the auction, which has been delayed by over two years.

The Government has set targets for other segments also to be completed by DoT this year. To promote rural telephony, the DoT has been told to increase tele-density to 22 per cent in villages and anything less that 20.5 per cent would by considered poor. The DoT also will have to take measures to encourage local manufacturing of telecom equipment. If equipment worth Rs 2,500 is exported then DoT will get an excellent rating and if it is below Rs 1,500 crore it will get a poor rating.

It is expected to achieve this target easily because already equipment worth Rs 10,000 crore is being exported from India.

The Government also wants to set up a telecom entrepreneur development scheme by February 28, A delay beyond March 31 will result in DoT getting a poor rating for this activity.

The RFD has been prepared by the Government for every major Ministries outlining the target and the expected time line for achieving the initiative.

The move is aimed at bringing more accountability in the functioning of the various Government departments.

DoT may get ‘poor' rating if it doesn't finish 3G auction by June

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