Union Minister Manoj Sinha on Tuesday said the new telecom policy (NTP) is almost ready and will be brought in the next session of Parliament after Cabinet nod.
“The new telecom policy is almost ready, and, this month, we will place it on the Departments website for public comments. We will bring it in the next session of Parliament,” the telecom minister said on the sidelines of Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana award ceremony.
The NTP 2018 — being crafted by the Department of Telecom — is expected to present a growth roadmap for the Indian telecom sector, which has been reeling under severe financial stress.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had earlier suggested that the sector should be able to address global requirements and attract investments of about USD 100 billion by 2022 under the new policy.
The regulator had also recommended that NTP 2018 should facilitate ease of doing business through simplification of licensing and regulatory frameworks, rationalisation of taxes, levies and related compliances and facilitating availability of resources, including spectrum.
On recent Cabinet nod for telecom relief package — which offers more time to telcos to pay for the spectrum they bought and eases spectrum caps — Sinha said the decision will ensure that the success of the sector continues unabated.
“The telecom sector has enjoyed a successful history and this will ensure that the success continues and that India continues to get good connectivity,” the telecom minister said.
Telecom companies will have the “option” to either go for the new payment schedule for spectrum or continue under the existing arrangement, he noted.
Earlier this month, the Cabinet allowed telcos to pay for spectrum over 16 years instead of 10 and permitted them to hold more airwaves, in a bid to provide relief to the troubled sector.
It relaxed caps on holding spectrum, helping ongoing mergers including that of Vodafone and Idea Cellular.
Following the Cabinet decision, the Department of Telecom (DoT) yesterday amended licence norms of service providers to increase number of instalments for spectrum payments and radio waves frequency holding limit.
Earlier, while speaking at the award function, Sinha called upon the Department of Posts to explore ways to generate revenue through philately, as is the practice in many countries.
The minister also felicitated students selected in the first edition of Deen Dayal SPARSH (Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude and Research in Stamps as a Hobby) Yojana 2017-18, and gave awards to 40 students who had qualified for the scholarship from Delhi Circle.
The minister said that more than 20,000 students participated in the competition and urged the Department to target one lakh students in the next round of the competition.
A commemorative postage stamp on the solar system was also released on the occasion.
