27th April

Allocate through auction

The article praises the govt decision to allocate the spectrum to the telecom operators on auction basis rather then on the basis of subscriber-base. It also talks about the issues that such system can face and its possible solutions. 

A government committee suggested the auction based system is better to allocate the spectrum to the existing operators. It would be more transparent and equitable then the existing system and enable efficient use of the scarce resource. The policy change comes after the TDSAT (tribunal for telecom disputes) verdict that the telecom policy doesn’t promise GSM operators more then 6.2 MHz of spectrum. Beyond this, it’s up to the government to decide the criteria of allocation. Subscriber based criteria could be misused by the existing operators by showing inflated figures of subscriber base. It also encourages inefficiency. Auction based allocation would compel the operators to debate whether to invest money in the bidding or improve the efficiency of the current spectrum by using new technology or simply erecting more towers. However, there are few issues as well in the auction based method for the existing operators. Like, the policy needs to clarify who would get the priority for the spectrum – the operators already having 6.2 MHz and needing more or the ones who are below that level and require additional spectrum. The best thing to do would be to go for auction of the entire additional spectrum beyond the initial level of 4.4 MHz. The funds raised by this could be used to create additional spectrum for auction and ensure steady supply of spectrum.

If other countries can allocate as much as 25 MHz of spectrum for operators, India can surely go for 15 MHz. 

Smokescreen as policy

The article throws light on the government’s proclamation to phase out tobacco production in the country within next five to 10 years. What has happened is exactly opposite. The author insists on fiscal measures to discourage tobacco consumption and thus, its production.

While 14 months back, the minister of state for commerce planned to phase out tobacco production in next 5-10 years, Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco production in Karnataka was hiked to its all time peak at 100 million kg in the meeting of all stakeholders, convened by the commerce ministry through the Tobacco Board. For AP it was hiked to 170 mkg and for Karnataka, this time again, it was held at 100 mkg. This time, no election manifesto for LS elections or AP assembly elections talks about phasing out tobacco. Not only that it is grown in almost half of the constituencies in AP, but other reason for this crop’s success is that it is the only crop whose per-kg price-realizations have almost doubled over the last few years. The reason for this is that worldwide the production of the crop has fallen down. While in Zimbabwe, eco-political turmoil has lead to decreased production, Europe has been phasing out subsidies on the crop for cultivation as per EU norms. Decreased production in Brazil, the leading producer of the crop, also affected the prices. In these conditions, with cheap production cost in India, Indian tobacco enjoys the competitive edge. This is precisely the reason why the authorized crop is regularly hiked. 

In order to discouraged production of the crop, fiscal measures like more excise duty and indirect taxes should be imposed. People should also be educated about the ill-effects of tobacco. Without this, the action-plans to phase out the crop remain a smokescreen.

Tennis Australia double-faults

The article expresses dissatisfaction over the decision of Tennis Australia to skip the Davis Cup tie between the two nations to be played at Chennai over the security reasons. It also insisted on joint efforts of sports federations of India and Union Sports Ministry to convince the other nations about India’s preparedness for security for any international sports event.

The grounds on which the Tennis Australia scrapped the events are totally unjustified. Citing the shifting of IPL T20 as a reason is disgusting since the difference between the scales of the two events is incomparable. IPL is a mega event that needs massive security compared to Davis Cup. After the Lahore attack on the Sri Lankan team on March 3, there is a perception among the foreign teams that they could become target of terrorist attacks. It is important for India’s sports federations to work with Union Sports Ministry to convince their counterparts that the security levels here are fool-proof, considering the fact that India would be hosting three mega events in the next two years i.e. Commonwealth Games, Hockey World Cup in 2010 and ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011. 

Taking the cue from China, India should clearly demonstrate that if its neighbour can host Olympics 2008, India also has the well and capabilities to provide security to any international event of any scale.