NEWS – AUGUST 2007

• Govt may review disinvestment norms
  The Economic Times, August 1, 2007
• PPP model to give wings to 300 airport
  The Economic Times, August 2, 2007
• Govt mulls raising FDI cap in PSU refineries
  The Business Line, August 2, 2007
• ‘We are not part of any cartelisation’
  The Business Line, August 2, 2007
• Fertiliser forum not in favour of direct subsidies to farmers
  The Business Line, August 2, 2007
• No immediate plans to launch low-cost service: AI chief
  The Business Line, August 3, 2007
• DoT urges Govt to impose penalty on operators
  The Business Line, August 6, 2007
• Ship service regulator likely
  The Economic Times, August 9, 2007
• No compensation to operators for spectrum delays: DoT
  The Business Line, August 10, 2007
• Govt unveils regional airlines concept to boost connectivity
  The Business Line, August 10, 2007
• CERC seeks more clarifications on Mundra power project tariff
  The Business Line, August 10, 2007
• Revive mobile number portability, says TRAI
  The Business Line, August 10, 2007
• Pay Rs 5,000 cr for spectrum, DoT tells defence forces
  The Business Line, August 11, 2007
• RBI need not meddle with market forces: CCI
  The Financial Express, August 11, 2007
• Ease roll-out norms for mobile operators, says regulator
  The Business Line August 12, 2007
• Plan panel turns down postal dept plan for courier watchdog
  The Financial Express, August 13, 2007
• Govt move to boost regional airlines welcomed
  The Business Line, August 14, 2007
• TRAI to look into tariff hike
  The Business Line, August 15, 2007
• Ceiling on number of mobile operators unlikely
  The Business Line, August 15, 2007
• Don’t apply price ceiling in retrospect, NPPA told
  The Financial Express, August 15, 2007
• Drug cos under MRTPC scanner
  The Business Line, August 19, 2007
• Trai to lift cap on players, ease M&A norms
  The Economic Times, August 20, 2007
• DoT gets tough with Net service providers
  The Business Line, August 22, 2007
• Airtel hauled up for charging extra to rectify network flaws
  The Financial Express, August 22, 2007
• Swapping sides: Number portability to ring in soon
  The Economic Times, August 22, 2007
• TRAI asks Bharti to stop charging users for repairs
  The Economic Times, August 23, 2007
• Kids below 16 may find it hard to own a mobile
  The Business Line, August 24, 2007
• DGCA notifies guidelines for regional airlines
  The Business Line, August 24, 2007
• ISPs have to pay licence & entry fees
  The Business Line, August 26, 2007
• Irda draws lakshman rekha
  Times of India, December 20, 2007
• Numbering violation: Bharti told to stop short code services
  The Business Line, August 28, 2007
• States cannot shut down retail stores, says Pawar
  The Business Line, August 29, 2007
• Govt open to regional airlines flying abroad
  The Business Line, August 29, 2007
• Tough norms on telecom merger laws proposed
  The Business Line, August 30, 2007
• Remove cap on number of mobile operators in a circle, says TRAI
  The Business Line, August 30, 2007
• Competition Bill: Cos must give notice of M&A moves/a>
  The Business Line, August 30, 2007
• Bill introduced to regulate clinical establishments
  The Hindu, August 31, 2007
• Regulatory provisions in place for DTH
  Daily News & Analysis, August 31, 2007
• City gas distribution: ‘Regulatory uncertainties need to be sorted out’
  The Business Line, September 01, 2007

Govt may review disinvestment norms
The Economic Times, August 1, 2007

New Delhi: In a move that could ease entry of foreign companies into the country, the government may review the policy of imposing a disinvestment clause on foreign companies in key sectors such as petroleum, food processing and chemicals. The finance ministry is taking up the matter and will invite comments from various ministries before changing the policy.

 
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PPP model to give wings to 300 airport
The Economic Times, August 2, 2007

New Delhi: In a bid to provide world-class airport infrastructure, the government is planning to offer over 300 airports and airstrips to private players for development through the public-private partnership (PPP) model and other methods. Apart from commercial use, the airstrips would also be used for providing training to pilots.

 
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Govt mulls raising FDI cap in PSU refineries
The Business Line, August 2, 2007

New Delhi: The Government is examining the option of raising the foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in public sector refineries from the existing 26 per cent. Sources said this may come as part of the FDI review process currently being undertaken, which is likely to be finalised around September.

 
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‘We are not part of any cartelisation’
The Business Line, August 2, 2007

Mumbai: “We received a MRTPC a notice in 2005 for which we replied in November and then again in March 2006. We made it clear to the authorities that we are not part of any cartelisation,” said Mr Vinod Juneja, Joint Managing Director, Binani Cement.

 
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Fertiliser forum not in favour of direct subsidies to farmers
The Business Line, August 2, 2007

New Delhi: The Fertiliser Advisory Forum (FAF) has opposed Finance Ministry’s suggestion of giving direct subsidy to farmers and said that the present system should continue. The Forum consists of State Agriculture Ministers, members of the consultative committee attached to the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, representatives of farmers and dealers from each State and officials from leading fertiliser companies.

 
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No immediate plans to launch low-cost service: AI chief
The Business Line, August 3, 2007

New Delhi: Air India plans to see the outcome of the low-cost long distance flights being operated by the Hong Kong-based Oasis Airlines and soon-to-be-launched service of the Malaysia-based Air Asia before taking a decision on launching its own long distance low cost flights, the airline Chairman and Managing Director, Mr V. Thulasidas, has said.

 
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DoT urges Govt to impose penalty on operators
The Business Line, August 6, 2007

New Delhi: Despite requests from telecom operators for relaxation, the Department of Telecom has recommended to the Minister of Communication, Mr A. Raja, to go ahead with imposing penalty of nearly Rs 700 crore on various operators for three different violations.

 
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Ship service regulator likely
The Economic Times, August 9, 2007

NEW DELHI: The government is considering establishing a regulator for the shipping industry to check the arbitrariness in shipping charges. The proposal, mooted by the commerce department, has been ‘well-received’ by the shipping ministry, which has promised to examine the possibility.

 
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No compensation to operators for spectrum delays: DoT
The Business Line, August 10, 2007

New Delhi: The Department of Telecom has decided that it was not liable to pay any compensation to operators for delay in allocating spectrum. This comes after Idea Cellular had asked DoT to pay Rs 83 crore as compensation for delay in allocating spectrum in Delhi circle in 2002.

 
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Govt unveils regional airlines concept to boost connectivity
The Business Line, August 10, 2007

New Delhi: Flying could soon become the preferred mode of travel for people in small towns and cities throughout the country. To give a boost to regional connectivity, the Government on Thursday unveiled the concept of regional airlines which seeks to boost air connectivity between tier-II and tier-III cities.

 
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CERC seeks more clarifications on Mundra power project tariff
The Business Line, August 10, 2007

New Delhi: After the Sasan Ultra Mega Power project imbroglio, progress on the Mundra Ultra Mega project has halted on account of bidding glitches.

The CERC has sought fresh clarifications from Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd — a special purpose vehicle set up by state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC) to kickstart the 4,000-MW project — about certain anomalies in its application for adoption of tariff submitted before it. The project was handed over to Tata Power in April this year after the conclusion of a tariff-based competitive bidding process

 
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Offset policy for all contracts likely
Thursday, December 06, 2007

The government is planning to make it mandatory for foreign companies bagging deals from state-owned companies to invest a part of their deal income in India. The move, which is expected to significantly benefit the domestic industry, would be possible as the government plans to expand its existing offset policy from just defence and state-owned airlines sectors to all civilian contracts across sectors.

 
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Revive mobile number portability, says TRAI
The Business Line, August 10, 2007

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is in favour of the Government reviving mobile number portability to improve the quality of services. “Mobile number portability would go a long way in improving the quality of services. We have recommended to the Government to implement it this year,” said a TRAI official. Mobile number portability allows subscribers to change the operator without changing their telephone number.

 
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Pay Rs 5,000 cr for spectrum, DoT tells defence forces
The Business Line, August 11, 2007

New Delhi: The rift between the defence forces and the Department of Telecom (DoT)over spectrum has further intensified. While defence has refused to vacate till alternative communication lines are in place, DoT has now taken an aggressive stance by asking the armed forces to give up unused spectrum immediately and pay Rs 5,000 crore annually for the radio frequency that they have been using for their internal communication. DoT has also taken a legal view to establish that the ownership of radio frequency rests with the Ministry of Communication.

 
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RBI need not meddle with market forces: CCI
The Financial Express, August 11, 2007

New Delhi: The banking sector will reap the full benefits of competition only if the Reserve Bank of India restricts itself to framing of prudential norms for banks and leaves all other issues to market forces, according to the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The CCI is an autonomous body mandated by law to prevent cartelisation, abuse of dominance and ensure a level-playing field across all sectors in the economy.

 
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Ease roll-out norms for mobile operators, says regulator
The Business Line August 12, 2007

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India wants the penalty on mobile operators for violating roll-out obligations to be eased out by doing away with the provision that allows the Government to cancel an operator’s licence. This is likely to be suggested by TRAI in its recommendations related to roll out obligations and capping of mobile operators to be announced on August 17.

 
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Plan panel turns down postal dept plan for courier watchdog
The Financial Express, August 13, 2007

New Delhi, Aug 13 The Planning Commission has opposed setting up of a regulatory body — Mail Regulatory Development Authority (MRDA)—by the department of posts (DoP) to regulate the courier companies. The plan panel feels there is no need for such a regulatory body.

 
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Govt move to boost regional airlines welcomed
The Business Line, August 14, 2007

Hyderabad: The Union Government’s move to create a separate category to promote regional airlines is expected to further trigger growth in the aviation industry as people from smaller cities would get access to air travel.

“The trunk routes (connecting major cities) have already become congested. It is time to focus on the smaller towns and cities to trigger growth,” Mr R. Krishnaswamy, Head (Corporate Planning), of Air Deccan, told Business Line

 
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TRAI to look into tariff hike
The Business Line, August 15, 2007

New Delhi, Aug. 14 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will look into the tariff hike announced by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar for its pre-paid and low-end post-paid subscribers. Though mobile tariffs are under forbearance, which means operators are free to fix their tariffs, TRAI is investigating whether there was cartel in announcing the new tariffs. Both operators announced similar tariff hikes from Re 1 per minute to Rs 1.20 per minute. Charges for sending SMS have also been hiked to Rs 1.20 per message from Re 1.

 
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Ceiling on number of mobile operators unlikely
The Business Line, August 15, 2007

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India may not prescribe capping the number of mobile operators in the country in its recommendation to the Government, expected to be announced in the next one week. TRAI is also likely to allow mixed use of technology which will enable CDMA operators to deploy GSM technology and vice-versa subject to availability of spectrum. This will benefit companies such as Reliance Communications which despite having a national CDMA network had applied for GSM spectrum.

 
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Don’t apply price ceiling in retrospect, NPPA told
The Financial Express, August 15, 2007

NEW DELHI: The chemicals & fertilisers ministry on Tuesday told the country’s drug price regulator the newly-introduced lower ceiling on annual price increase should not be applied retrospectively. The move is set to benefit the who’s who of the industry that received NPPA notices in the first four months of the year when it asked them to lower prices of 132 brands or face price control. According to sources, the cases will be re-assessed, allowing them a 20% price increase in the preceding 12 months and not the new 10% ceiling the regulator applied

 
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Drug cos under MRTPC scanner
The Business Line, August 19, 2007

New Delhi: A host of cases against major drug manufacturers are pending for further action in the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission. The companies against which the cases are due for action include Johnson & Johnson Ltd, Zhandu Pharmaceutical Ltd, Novartis India Ltd, and Intas Pharmaceutical Ltd. The cases would either come up for hearing later this month or next month or issues would be framed against them in this period

 
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Trai to lift cap on players, ease M&A norms
The Economic Times, August 20, 2007

New Delhi: In its next stage of licensing reforms, telecom regulator Trai this week will recommend that there be no cap on the number of players in a circle and operators be allowed to offer both CDMA and GSM services under the same licence. It will also propose easing of merger and acquisition norms in the sector. Trai’s recommendations, which may come under severe criticism from GSM players, are expected to free the telecom sector further.

 
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DoT gets tough with Net service providers
The Business Line, August 22, 2007

New Delhi: In a bid to weed out non-serious players from the Internet sector, the Department of Telecom has issued termination notice to 51 entities which had taken the Internet Service Provider’s licence, but have not started services within the stipulated timeframe. As per the ISP licence norms, operators are required to start service within two years of getting the licence. Termination notice will be sent to another 40 ISPs in the next few weeks.

 
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Airtel hauled up for charging extra to rectify network flaws
The Financial Express, August 22, 2007

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday slammed Bharti Airtel for proposing to charge extra for rectifying defects and asked the operator to refund money taken, if any, from consumers. Levying separate charges for rectifying defects in the network and visiting charges were anti-consumer because the customer did not choose the quality of material being used, Trai said.

 
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Swapping sides: Number portability to ring in soon
The Economic Times, August 22, 2007

Soon, you will no longer have to be tied to your mobile operator just so you can retain your number. The communications ministry is set to offer all mobile users the freedom of choosing their service providers while retaining their numbers through the introduction of mobile number portability (MNP).

 
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TRAI asks Bharti to stop charging users for repairs
The Economic Times, August 23, 2007

New Delhi, Aug. 22 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday asked Bharti Airtel to stop taking money from subscribers for rectifying faults and undertaking repairs. Criticising the operator for proposing to charge extra for rectifying defects, TRAI asked Bharti to refund the money, if any, taken from consumers till now.

 
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Kids below 16 may find it hard to own a mobile
The Business Line, August 24, 2007

New Delhi: The Department of Telecom does not want children below 16 years to own a mobile phone. As per draft guidelines for complying with limits for human exposure to electromagnetic fields prepared by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre — the technical wing of the DoT — mobile operators will be asked to discourage children from taking a connection. The reason: Mobile phones radiate electromagnetic energy that heats up the tissues, which may cause health hazards.

 
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DGCA notifies guidelines for regional airlines
The Business Line, August 24, 2007

New Delhi: The Government has decided to impose an annual licence and an entry fee for Internet service providers. As part of its new policy for ISPs, the Department of Telecom has also decided to stop issuing new licences for small district level operators. The permitted foreign direct investment cap for ISPs has also been reduced from 100 per cent to 74 per cent. The policy is in line with the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

 
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ISPs have to pay licence & entry fees
The Business Line, August 26, 2007

New Delhi: The Government has decided to impose an annual licence and an entry fee for Internet service providers. As part of its new policy for ISPs, the Department of Telecom has also decided to stop issuing new licences for small district level operators. The permitted foreign direct investment cap for ISPs has also been reduced from 100 per cent to 74 per cent. The policy is in line with the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

 
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Numbering violation: Bharti told to stop short code services
The Business Line, August 28, 2007

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has asked Bharti Airtel to stop offering a host of services using short codes since it is violating the national numbering plan. The Government had earlier said all short codes should be a five digit number and should also start with the number ‘5’. Short codes are used by operators and content service providers to offer messaging-based facility such as opinion polls, downloads, voice chat and FM radio.

 
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States cannot shut down retail stores, says Pawar
The Business Line, August 29, 2007

New Delhi: In a move supportive of organised retail trade expansion in the country, the Union Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, said on Tuesday that States could not close down any establishment on a permanent basis unless there is violation of law.

 
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Govt open to regional airlines flying abroad
The Business Line, August 29, 2007

New Delhi: Regional airlines, the new category of airlines created by the Government to promote air travel in smaller cities can also look forward to flying abroad. A senior official told Business Line that the Government was open to allowing regional airlines to operate abroad as long as they meet the laid down criterion.

 
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Tough norms on telecom merger laws proposed
The Business Line, August 30, 2007

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended tightening in the existing mergers and acquisition laws governing telecom service providers. It has said that a minimum of four operators should be left per circle post any merger. At present, a minimum of only three operators per circle is required.

 
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Remove cap on number of mobile operators in a circle, says TRAI
The Business Line, August 30, 2007

New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday suggested that the Government should not cap the number of mobile operators and instead ask the cellular operators to pay an upfront fee for additional spectrum beyond 10 Mhz. If this recommendation, aimed at improving the utilisation of radio waves, is accepted by the Government, an operator like Airtel or Reliance will have to pay as much as Rs 1,500 crore to get a 5 Mhz band across the country. This is equivalent to what the fourth cellular operator had paid four years back for a pan India licence.

 
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Competition Bill: Cos must give notice of M&A moves
The Business Line, August 30, 2007

New Delhi: The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2007, introduced in Lok Sabha, makes it mandatory for the companies undertaking mergers or acquisitions in India or overseas above a prescribed threshold limit to inform the Competition Commission of India (CCI) before making such a move. However, for the overseas mergers and acquisitions, a company needs to inform the CCI only if they have an India connection.

 
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Bill introduced to regulate clinical establishments
The Hindu, August 31, 2007

New Delhi: A Bill to provide for registration and regulation of clinical establishments was introduced in the Lok Sabha by Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss. It envisages the constitution of a National Council, which will classify clinical establishments and develop minimum standards, and compile and maintain a national register.

 
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Regulatory provisions in place for DTH
Daily News & Analysis, August 31, 2007

New Delhi: Regulatory provisions have been announced for direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting services. With the number of DTH households (excluding Prasar Bharati’s free-to-air platform) touching 3.2 million and growing at a fast pace, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Friday issued quality of service regulations for the direct-to-home players

 
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City gas distribution: ‘Regulatory uncertainties need to be sorted out’
The Business Line, September 01, 2007

Chennai: What can speed up investments in city gas distribution (CGD)? A fast-track removal of the many regulatory uncertainties, says a recent survey conducted by Crisil. “The new regulations must facilitate the entry of credible players with demonstrated infrastructure development experience, besides ensuring intrinsic viability of licence area configurations,” say Mr Sanjay Sah and Mr Pankaj Wadhwa, both Team Leaders-Fuel Practice in Crisil Infrastructure Advisory.

 
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