NEWS – JUNE 2007
- Regulators need more financial autonomy
The Economic Times, June 1, 2007 - DoT to improve connectivity in rural areas
The Economic Times, June 3, 2007 - Govt maps PPP route for better services in hospitals
The Economic Times, June 4, 2007 - Coal regulator Bill in final stages
The Economic Times, June 4, 2007 - TRAI imposes fine for unsolicited calls
The Economic Times, June 5, 2007 - Call to frame water policy for Vizag development
The Business Line, June 6, 2007 - Unwanted calls: Regulation in place for penalising telemarketers
The Business Line, June 6, 2007 - Telecom authority mulls allowing spectrum sharing among operators
The Business Line, June 7, 2007 - TRAI move on cheaper intl roaming may hit snag
The Business Line, June 8, 2007 - DoT plans USO scheme for rural mobile telephony
The Business Line, June 9, 2007 - Telecom authority for cap on mobile operators
The Business Line, June 13, 2007 - NPPA fixes prices for eight non-scheduled drugs
The Business Line, June 15, 2007 - Aviation policy goes to GoM
The Business Line, June 16, 2007 - TRAI sets up consumer education fund
The Business Line, June 16, 2007/li> - Airport modernisation: AAI recast, role for private sector mooted
The Business Line, June 17, 2007 - Excessive regulation strangling global insurance sector: Survey
The Business Line, June 17, 2007 - Transmission: PowerGrid enters bidding mode
The Business Line, June 23, 2007 - TRAI says differential tariffs discriminatory
The Economic Times, June 29, 2007 - DoT urges DD to vacate spectrum for pvt players
The Business Line, June 30, 2007
Regulators need more financial autonomy
The Economic Times, June 1, 2007
The Sixth Pay Commission created a bit of a stir a few months ago when all the regulators in the country were told to list out staff emoluments, package et al. In the history of past such commissions, the welfare of regulators never formed part of their agenda. But this time round, the lack of uniform rules for various regulators seems to have apparently prompted the commission to seek details. Not just that. Regulators will now have to contend with the government also which believes that all fines, penalties and fees collected by regulators ought to be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI). India’s capital market watchdog Sebi may be the first in line to be told to pass on to the exchequer the fees it collects from intermediaries and other participants
DoT to improve connectivity in rural areas
The Economic Times, June 3, 2007
IIf you have a big idea in the area of communications and you don’t mind testing it out in the rural areas first, the department of telecommunications (DoT) may be just the partner you’re looking for. The DoT is planning to launch a scheme to help establish new technologies for pilot projects in rural areas to help improve communications and connectivity. The project will receive funding from the DoT. The idea to set up this scheme occurred to DoT when it was approached by various companies with ideas for pilot projects in rural areas. Among the proposals that came up was one for a software defined radio system which is increasingly being used in wireless services.
Govt maps PPP route for better services in hospitals
The Economic Times, June 4, 2007
Public sector speciality hospitals may soon go for an image make-over to compete with private hospitals like Apollo, Fortis and Max Healthcare. The Centre plans to privatise various services in its premium hospitals to provide improved healthcare facilities with professional touch. A beginning will be made in the AIIMS-like medical institutes proposed in Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Rishikesh, Jodhpur, Patna and Raipur. The six institutes will be set up under private public partnership (PPP) model, a source in the health ministry said.
Coal regulator Bill in final stages
The Economic Times, June 4, 2007
The government has set the ball rolling for the establishment of an independent coal regulator, a move being seen as a precursor to opening the controlled coal market. It is finalising the Coal Governance & Regulation Authority Bill that would establish the office of the new regulator responsible overseeing issues pertaining to pricing and supply of coal. The draft of the new Bill is being finalised by the coal ministry in consultation of the Planning Commission. Once the Bill is ready, the coal ministry proposes to issue a note for consideration of the Cabinet
TRAI imposes fine for unsolicited calls
The Economic Times, June 5, 2007
The government has set the ball rolling for the establishment of an independent coal regulator, a move being seen as a precursor to opening the controlled coal market. It is finalising the Coal Governance & Regulation Authority Bill that would establish the office of the new regulator responsible overseeing issues pertaining to pricing and supply of coal. The draft of the new Bill is being finalised by the coal ministry in consultation of the Planning Commission. Once the Bill is ready, the coal ministry proposes to issue a note for consideration of the Cabinet
Call to frame water policy for Vizag development
The Business Line, June 6, 2007
Visakhapatnam June 5 Politicians, retired bureaucrats, journalists and prominent citizens of Visakhapatnam have demanded formulation (and implementation) of a clear water policy by the State Government for the development of the city, giving priority to drinking water first, agriculture next and then industry. This plea was made at a roundtable conference organised by the Vizag Journalists’ Forum here on Tuesday (the World Environment Day), in view of the raging controversy over allotment of 8 million gallons per day (mgd) of water to the proposed Jindal alumina refinery in Vizianagaram district by the Greater Visakha Municipal Corporation (GVMC) Godavari project.
Unwanted calls: Regulation in place for penalising telemarketers
The Business Line, June 6, 2007
Unwanted telemarketing calls and short messages propagating products and services will now be a thing of the past. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Tuesday issued a stringent regulation, which includes a fine of Rs 500 on telemarketers for every unsolicited commercial call or short message to subscribers who have got their telephone number listed on the National Do Not Call (NDNC) Registry. The National Informatics Centre (NIC) will create such a registry within three months. Subscribers of both fixed line telephone and mobile phones who do not wish to get calls from telemarketers can get their numbers listed in the registry through their service provider.
Telecom authority mulls allowing spectrum sharing among operators
The Business Line, June 7, 2007
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on Wednesday said that it would consider making a recommendation to the Government to allow sharing of spectrum among telecom companies. The move could enable operators to tide over the acute spectrum crunch being faced by the industry. “Once the Government accepts the recommendations of sharing of active and backhaul infrastructure, the next step will be sharing of scarce resource – spectrum,” the TRAI Chairman, Mr Nripendra Misra, said on the sidelines of a regulatory seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry. .
TRAI move on cheaper intl roaming may hit snag
The Business Line, June 8, 2007
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s initiative to bring down international roaming rates may not bring results very quickly. TRAI had earlier requested the European Commission to extend the benefits of its recent decision to reduce roaming rates within Europe, to Indian mobile users. The TRAI had also sent a proposal to SAARC countries to replicate the EU model within the region. However, both the proposals may not materialise.
DoT plans USO scheme for rural mobile telephony
The Business Line, June 9, 2007
After receiving tremendous response from private operators for its rural cellular project, the Communications and IT Ministry is launching a new scheme for setting up additional cellular infrastructure in rural areas with support from the Universal Services Obligation (USO) fund within two months. The plan, which envisages 4,000 additional towers in remote areas, was discussed in a meeting held between the Minister, Mr A. Raja, and representatives from the industry.
Telecom authority for cap on mobile operators
The Business Line, June 13, 2007
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday kickstarted the process for facilitating the next wave of telecom reforms by floating a consultation paper that discusses a number of key policy decisions including capping the number of mobile operators in each circle. TRAI said that unrestricted entry of access providers would put pressure on spectrum demand; therefore, a discussion was needed on whether to limit the number of players or allow market forces to decide. At present, there are up to eight mobile operators in a circle.
NPPA fixes prices for eight non-scheduled drugs
The Business Line, June 15, 2007
The National Pharma Pricing Authority has fixed the prices of eight non-scheduled drugs including Nicholas Piramal’s big-selling paediatric syrup, Phenergan, Ranbaxy’s antibiotic, Roscillin and an anti-infective from Novartis. Some of these drugs, according to analysts, are “big brands”. Quoting ORG IMS data, the NPPA says it has observed an increase of more than 20 per cent in prices for these drugs during the period from February 2004 to February 2005, and decided to notify the companies
Aviation policy goes to GoM
The Business Line, June 16, 2007
The Civil Aviation policy was referred to a Group of Ministers (GoM) on Friday after some Cabinet Ministers raised questions about certain proposals mooted in the policy including allowing more domestic airlines abroad, creation of merchant airports and plans to corporatise the air traffic control system. “The GoM composition should be decided in the next two weeks and the policy should be ready to be placed before the Cabinet in the next three months,” official sources said
TRAI sets up consumer education fund
The Business Line, June 16, 2007
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has set up a Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund to create awareness among telecom consumers and for protecting their interests. The fund will initially have a corpus of around Rs 10 crore. In order to raise money for the corpus, the telecom regulator has instructed all the operators “who may have charged their subscribers any amount in excess of the rates determined under any regulation and which could not be refunded to the concerned subscribers, and thus, lying as unclaimed with the service providers, shall transfer the excess amount so collected to the credit of the Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund.”
Airport modernisation: AAI recast, role for private sector mooted
The Business Line, June 17, 2007
Though Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have opted for modernisation of the Chennai and Kolkata airports through the public sector Airports Authority of India (AAI), the draft civil aviation policy envisages a part role by the private sector in these ventures since the AAI is proposed to be restructured. The draft policy suggests that in recognition of the need to infuse resources and the “participation of the private sector in this (modernisation of airports) endeavour, efforts would be made to raise funds from the capital market and through various other models of public-private partnership…”
Excessive regulation strangling global insurance sector: Survey
The Business Line, June 17, 2007
The burden of too much regulation is the greatest risk currently facing the global insurance industry, according to `Insurance Banana Skins 2007,’ a survey of the risks facing insurers published by PricewaterhouseCoopers in association with the UK-based Centre for the Study of Financial Innovation (CSFI). According to the survey, new rules and compliance requirements are eroding the profitability of the industry and distracting management from the task of running an efficient business.
Transmission: PowerGrid enters bidding mode
The Business Line, June 23, 2007
Power Grid Corporation of India is entering into a bidding mode for a mega transmission project that will be able to evacuate about 7,000 MW at one go up from 3,500 MW now. Such a project would help transmit from energy surplus regions of the country to energy-starved regions. This is one of the pioneering projects in the world and matter has been posed for World Bank support, the Chairman and Managing Director of Power Grid, Dr R.P. Singh, said.
TRAI says differential tariffs discriminatory
The Economic Times, June 29, 2007
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has told the Supreme Court that the differential tariffs levied by private GSM operators in four states for calls terminating in public sector telecom companies BSNL and MTNL and those terminating in the network of other private operators in service areas within the same state is discriminatory and inconsistent with DoT policies. The states under the scanner include Maharashtra, UP, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
DoT urges DD to vacate spectrum for pvt players
The Business Line, June 30, 2007
In what could be seen as the first step towards permitting terrestrial broadcasting by private television companies, the Wireless Planning and Co-ordination (WPC) wing of the Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked Doordarshan to vacate spectrum in the specific frequency bands that can be used for such transmission. WPC, which is responsible for allocating and managing the spectrum requirements of various users in the country, has proposed that Doordarshan vacate 56 Mhz in the 174-230 Mhz frequency band and 32 Mhz in the 470-806 Mhz band