Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr68004803e32e4-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr68004803e32e4-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;credit_writer&#039; =&gt; &#039;The Telegraph, 8 January, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110108/jsp/frontpage/story_13408900.jsp&#039;,
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$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case&#039;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the..."/>
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                <strong>Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case</strong></h1>
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                <br /><div align="justify">Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br /><br />Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br /><br />Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br /><br />He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br /><br />At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br /><br />These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br /><br />He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br /><br />Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br /><br />The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br /><br />&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br /><br />In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br /><br />&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br /><br />&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br /><br /></div>               </font>
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case&#039;,
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&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case&#039;,
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&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. 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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the..."/>
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                <strong>Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case</strong></h1>
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                <br /><div align="justify">Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br /><br />Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br /><br />Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br /><br />He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br /><br />At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br /><br />These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br /><br />He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br /><br />Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br /><br />The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br /><br />&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br /><br />In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br /><br />&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br /><br />&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br /><br /></div>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr68004803e32e4-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr68004803e32e4-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr68004803e32e4-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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$metaTitle = &#039;LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case&#039;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div align=&quot;justify&quot;&gt;Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &amp;ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&amp;rdquo; the government auditor&amp;rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &amp;ldquo;the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo; &amp;mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &amp;ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&amp;rdquo;.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&amp;rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &amp;ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&amp;rdquo; Sibal added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;He added that &amp;ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&amp;rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &amp;ldquo;no loss at all&amp;rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &amp;ldquo;for which there is no charge&amp;rdquo;, it was &amp;ldquo;inaccurate&amp;rdquo; on the CAG&amp;rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&amp;rdquo; Sibal said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&amp;rdquo; the minister added.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&amp;rdquo; the note said.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&amp;hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&amp;hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&amp;ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&amp;rdquo;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the..."/>
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                <strong>Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case</strong></h1>
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                <br /><div align="justify">Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br /><br />Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br /><br />Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br /><br />He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br /><br />At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br /><br />These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br /><br />He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br /><br />Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br /><br />The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br /><br />&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br /><br />In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br /><br />&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br /><br />&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br /><br /></div>               </font>
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<div align="justify">
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br />
<br />
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br />
<br />
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br />
<br />
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br />
<br />
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br />
<br />
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br />
<br />
He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br />
<br />
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br />
<br />
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br />
<br />
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
</div>',
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	'metaTitle' => 'LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case',
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...',
	'disp' => '<br /><div align="justify">Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br /><br />Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br /><br />Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br /><br />He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br /><br />At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br /><br />These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br /><br />He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br /><br />Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br /><br />The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br /><br />&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br /><br />In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br /><br />&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br /><br />&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br /><br /></div>',
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	'title' => 'Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case',
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<div align="justify">
Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br />
<br />
Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br />
<br />
Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br />
<br />
He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br />
<br />
At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br />
<br />
These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br />
<br />
He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br />
<br />
Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br />
<br />
The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br />
<br />
In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br />
<br />
&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br />
<br />
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Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.

Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the...'
$disp = '<br /><div align="justify">Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed &ldquo;utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational&rdquo; the government auditor&rsquo;s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore.<br /><br />Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to &ldquo;the aam aadmi&rdquo; &mdash; something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now.<br /><br />Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare.<br /><br />He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also &ldquo;helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi&rdquo;.<br /><br />At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general&rsquo;s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies.<br /><br />These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. &ldquo;We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,&rdquo; Sibal added.<br /><br />He added that &ldquo;we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal not only dubbed the CAG&rsquo;s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been &ldquo;no loss at all&rdquo; to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008.<br /><br />Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), &ldquo;for which there is no charge&rdquo;, it was &ldquo;inaccurate&rdquo; on the CAG&rsquo;s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates.<br /><br />The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method.<br /><br />&ldquo;When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,&rdquo; Sibal said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,&rdquo; the minister added.<br /><br />In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,&rdquo; the note said.<br /><br />&ldquo;In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done&hellip;. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective.<br /><br />&ldquo;It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences&hellip; were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy.<br /><br />&ldquo;The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore.<br /><br />&ldquo;Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.&rdquo;<br /><br />&ldquo;Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.&rdquo;<br /><br />Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price.<br /><br />&ldquo;The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.&rdquo;<br /><br /></div>'
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Sibal builds 2G maximum-welfare case

Telecom minister Kapil Sibal today termed “utterly erroneous, baseless and sensational” the government auditor’s estimate that the alleged 2G scam resulted in a presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore. Sibal gave a detailed explanation of the priorities that drove the telecom policy and the benefits over the years to “the aam aadmi” — something his predecessor A. Raja did not or could not articulate till now. Drawing a parallel with free land allocation to build infrastructure, Sibal said the telecom policy was not formulated to merely maximise government revenue but to maximise public welfare. He acknowledged that some changes effected by the NDA government had also “helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi”. At the same time, the current minister hinted that there could be some substance to the comptroller and auditor general’s observations regarding deviation from actual policy and favouritism towards certain companies. These issues are being investigated by a committee as well as the CBI. “We are not here to defend or protect anybody... if any irregularities are found, strict action would be taken against all erring parties,” Sibal added. He added that “we respect CAG but we are pained at some of the figures and methodology adopted by CAG which has no basis. We believe that (the) exercise by the CAG was fraught with errors. We object to that.” Sibal not only dubbed the CAG’s estimates inaccurate but also asserted that there had been “no loss at all” to the exchequer because of 2G spectrum allocation in 2008. Sibal said that since all the operators who were awarded licences in 2008 got only start-up spectrum (4.4 megahertz), “for which there is no charge”, it was “inaccurate” on the CAG’s part to state that the government had lost potential revenue after the airwaves were sold below market rates. The CAG had reached the figure of Rs 1.76 lakh crore based on the prices that the 3G auction fetched two years later in 2010. Some independent auditors had earlier questioned this method. “When you make the adjustments and also discount 3G prices (set in May 2010) to reflect the time value of money in 2008 and make economic adjustments for the efficiency of 2G spectrum vis-a-vis 3G spectrum, the net loss stands at Rs 17,000 crore,” Sibal said. “In case one has to put a figure, the loss to the exchequer would be closer to Rs 17,755 crore,” the minister added. In a written note, Sibal explained in detail the rationale behind the telecom policy. “Government policy is formulated with a view to maximising public welfare, and not merely to maximise government revenues. The pricing of different natural resources is often done in a manner that meets this objective. “For instance, land is given free of cost to infrastructure projects such as construction of highways, coal prices are kept much lower than global prices in order to ensure that the cost of power remains reasonable,” the note said. “In all these cases, if the objective of the government was only to maximise revenues, much higher price would be charged, but there are good reasons why that is not done…. It is well established in the case of the telecom sector that the objective of the government has always been to ensure that telecom services are available to citizens across the country at reasonable prices.” Sibal seemed to suggest that the changes made by the NDA government had also helped achieve this objective. “It is worth recalling that it was in this context that the terms and conditions of licences… were completely changed by the then government in 1999 under the New Telecom Policy. “The new policy explicitly recognised the need to bring greater competition in the telecom sector in both urban and rural areas and to provide a level playing field for all players. Critics of the change in policy had argued at the time that the change in the contractual terms resulted in a loss to the exchequer of about Rs 40,000 crore. “Similarly, the reductions in licence fee in January 2001 and again in April 2004 can also be interpreted as benefiting select players at the expense of the national exchequer by the then government.” “Yet, these measures have helped increase tele-density and reduce prices of mobile services for the aam aadmi. The resultant benefits to the economy as a whole are well known.” Sibal referred to the large investments involved in telecom and a perception that too steep an entry free would push up the end-user price. “The provision of telecom services involves large investments. This is particularly so when we wish to cover the entire length and breadth of the country. If at the time of issuing licences, the government charges a very high entry fee, it would reduce the resources available to the operators to undertake the necessary creation of infrastructure. It would also eventually impact the prices charged by the operators and, thereby limit the services to those who can afford higher services.”