-The Business Standard Deconstructing the numbers shows companies have bid smartly to get the best deals The recently concluded sale of 1,800-MHz spectrum through auction to telecom service operators, or telcos, has been declared a damp squib for two reasons: One, only five telcos participated in the auction; and two, the bids added up to Rs 9,407 crore, which was less than a third of the Rs 30,000 crore the government had...

-The Times of India The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has asked the oil ministry not to approve any more investments in Reliance Industries's KG-D6 oil and gas block till the company submits all records of its spending in the Andhra offshore field till 2011-12 for scrutiny. In a November 9 letter to the ministry, a top CAG functionary also suggested a similar action for the Panna-Mukta and Tapti (PMT) group...

-The Hindu The wretched outcome of the 2G spectrum auctions, netting just Rs.9,407.64 crore against a Rs.40,000 crore revenue target, has evoked predictable reactions from the Congress party. Its leaders have indirectly mocked the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Supreme Court and the media for tying the government’s hands — instead of expressing concern about the impact of the failed auctions on investor confidence and India’s worrying fiscal deficit. Their gloating...

-The Times of India The Congress on Thursday seized on the low yields of the 2G spectrum auction to attack the federal auditor's Rs 1.76 lakh crore revenue loss projection, setting the stage for another round of bitter feuding with the opposition. After the Supreme Court-ordered 2G auction yielded just Rs 9,407 crore, information and broadcasting minister Manish Tewari hit out at the comptroller and auditor general, saying, "Mr CAG, where is...

-The Times of India The government plans to put on auction the circles that went without bids in the just concluded sale of 2G mobile phone spectrum, by March 31, telecom minister Kapil Sibal said on Friday. The "intent" is to have the auction of spectrum in four circles, including Delhi and Mumbai, before the end of the fiscal, Sibal told a news conference. Blaming sensationalism for collapse of the country's telecom growth...