Make use of MNP to garner more customers for BSNL.

Lackadaisical attitude of the Management is not going to help BSNL. All BSNL workers are urged to aggressively garner the potential customers of other operators in the wake of cancellation of 122 licences.

CVC chief Pradeep Kumar meets CAG to discuss 2G

Chief Vigilance Commissioner Pradeep Kumar met Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai on Thursday to strategise and coordinate after the Supreme Court of India's landmark verdict cancelling 122 telecom licences, official sources said. The court has asked the CBI to submit a status report on investigations on the 2G spectrum case to the Central Vigilance Commission. A CAG report had estimated a loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore due to the manner in which spectrum was issued.The national auditor has argued in the past that based on capital infusion in various companies such as Unitech, Swan and Tata Teleservices, the loss to the exchequer could have been in the range from Rs 57,666 crore to Rs 4.19 lakh crore. "The CVC and the CAG met in the morning. They held general discussions on coordination between the two apex bodies," an official said. While the CAG has already completed the audit and does not have any direct role in the investigations, officials said the meeting was relevant because the national auditor had based his calculation on the value of 3G spectrum auction. The fact that the Supreme Court has asked the government to auction spectrum has cheered the CAG, which faced sharp criticism from telecom minister Kapil Sibal. The minister had responded to the CAG report saying the calculations were erroneous. The prime minister CAG also faced criticism. Officials said the CBI, CVC and CAG have held frequent interactions for better coordination amongst the leading audit and investigative agencies, which have scrutinized several highprofile corruption charges.

2G case: SC order will be conducive for telecom growth, say industry groups

Cancellation of telecom licences by the Supreme Court will help create conducive environment for foreign investors and facilitate growth of the sector which was hit by uncertainty, industry groups said today. At the same time, they have extended support to the government and telecom regulator Trai in working out a mechanism which ensures that telecom subscribers are not inconvenienced by the development. "With this crucial judgement, the sector will be restarting the process of receiving clarity in terms of policies and next steps...The uncertainty currently prevailing in the sector will be eliminated," industry chamber Ficci said in a statement. "In the new environment, India is expected to invite and attract large scale domestic and foreign investment afresh. This may take some time but is an improvement over an environment that mirrors uncertainty," it said. CII also said that the judgement will remove the uncertainty that was affecting the telecom sector over the last year and more. "This (decision) should now facilitate the acceleration of growth of this sector and we look forward to conducive government policies and actions to encourage the required investments in telecom infrastructure and services," CII said in a statement.It said the judgement would affect less than five per cent of 900 million mobile subscribers in India. Assocham said the verdict will be in the interest of serious and long-term investors - both domestic and foreign. It is clear that the Supreme Court judgement underlined the need for a pro-reform, competitive and market-based process for allocation of scarce national resources such as spectrum, Ficci said.