A three-member expert committee, set up by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and meant to determine the precise value of spectrum during 2001-2008 submitted a report on 19 August 2011. In the report the committee compalined of a tricky exercise plagued by data deficit.
The report was filed at a time when the valuation of public loss caused by the 2008 spectrum allocation under then Telecom Minister A Raja is being pegged between Rs 1.76 lakh crore by the Comptroller and Auditor General to over Rs 30000 crore by the CBI and zero loss by Raja’s successor Kapil Sibal.
The panel stressed on the importance of adequate and good quality data in an estimation of the loss.The task of estimating the data become further complicated because it involved going back in time during which there was unexpected and unprecedented growth of the telecom industry.
The report recommended auction of spectrum as the ideal method. The panel opined that the ideal method to determine value of any scarce natural resource including spectrum is by way of the market mechanism, that is, to use the winning bid as an estimate of value.
The report estimated the value of spectrum in 2008 to be between Rs 5500 crore and Rs 9500 crore. It complained that the auction route not being taken by the government proved to be a stumbling block in its inquiry.
.jpg){kind=logo}
Comments
All Comments (0)
Join the conversation