Manoj Sinha can look forward to spectrum auction, BharatNet and Digital India plan
NEW DELHI: Manoj Sinha took charge as the new telecom minister on Wednesday, coming in as the department of telecom gears up for the largest auction of bandwidth later this year and as consumers continue to grapple with call drops.
The appointment of Sinha, 57, brings with it a major challenge in the way of speeding up implementation of the much-delayed BharatNet initiative, which envisages delivering broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats and is critical to the government's ambitious Digital India programme.
Sinha's new portfolio brings with it the responsibility of the postal department. India Post is among entities that are preparing to start payments banks, through which the Narendra Modi-led government expects to bring large swathes of the rural population under the formal banking system.
Sinha, who is also minister of state for railways, took office at a ministry where the stakes are high with the involvement of big industrial houses in the country led by Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mittal, besides global telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc. All these groups have huge interests in the evolving debate on net neutrality as well, which will attract a lot of focus not just within India, but overseas too.
Sinha replaces Ravi Shankar Prasad who has been allotted law and justice in addition to the department of electronics and IT from his previous portfolio.
Since taking over about two years ago, Prasad has resolved pending issues in the often fractious industry. He brought in much-awaited policies for trading and sharing of spectrum, virtual network operators, released airwaves held by defence for commercial use and initiated the arduous process of reviving state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
The appointment of Sinha, 57, brings with it a major challenge in the way of speeding up implementation of the much-delayed BharatNet initiative, which envisages delivering broadband connectivity to 2.5 lakh gram panchayats and is critical to the government's ambitious Digital India programme.
Sinha's new portfolio brings with it the responsibility of the postal department. India Post is among entities that are preparing to start payments banks, through which the Narendra Modi-led government expects to bring large swathes of the rural population under the formal banking system.
Sinha, who is also minister of state for railways, took office at a ministry where the stakes are high with the involvement of big industrial houses in the country led by Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mittal, besides global telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc. All these groups have huge interests in the evolving debate on net neutrality as well, which will attract a lot of focus not just within India, but overseas too.
Sinha replaces Ravi Shankar Prasad who has been allotted law and justice in addition to the department of electronics and IT from his previous portfolio.
Since taking over about two years ago, Prasad has resolved pending issues in the often fractious industry. He brought in much-awaited policies for trading and sharing of spectrum, virtual network operators, released airwaves held by defence for commercial use and initiated the arduous process of reviving state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.
Speaking to reporters after taking over as the new law and IT minister, Prasad said he would rate installation of over 1lakh cell sites by telcos to improve call drop situation due to his strong stand with the industry as one of his accomplishments.
However, Sinha will still need to take on the call drop issue, which is far from resolved and had even forced intervention from the highest powers in the government.
"He is straight, to the point and tries to get a deep understanding of each subject," said an official who has worked closely with Sinha. Upon assuming office, Sinha went straight into a meeting with telecom secretary JS Deepak to understand issues pertaining to the telecom industry. The minister will be in Varanasi over the next two days and will be back in the capital on Friday. "He (Sinha) means business," another official said.
Sinha needs all these qualities in his new role for a sector that is heavily regulated and known for the intense business rivalry, which is set to hot up with the imminent entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm. Relations between the ministry and the industry have become somewhat patchy after the call drop issue put them at loggerheads.
The industry's relations with the sector regulator are also at an all-time low. A BJP Member of Parliament from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996, 1999 and in 2014.
Born on July 1, 1959, in Mohanpura in Ghazipur district, Sinha did his B. Tech in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, and his M. Tech in civil engineering from the same institute
However, Sinha will still need to take on the call drop issue, which is far from resolved and had even forced intervention from the highest powers in the government.
"He is straight, to the point and tries to get a deep understanding of each subject," said an official who has worked closely with Sinha. Upon assuming office, Sinha went straight into a meeting with telecom secretary JS Deepak to understand issues pertaining to the telecom industry. The minister will be in Varanasi over the next two days and will be back in the capital on Friday. "He (Sinha) means business," another official said.
Sinha needs all these qualities in his new role for a sector that is heavily regulated and known for the intense business rivalry, which is set to hot up with the imminent entry of Reliance Jio Infocomm. Relations between the ministry and the industry have become somewhat patchy after the call drop issue put them at loggerheads.
The industry's relations with the sector regulator are also at an all-time low. A BJP Member of Parliament from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Sinha was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1996, 1999 and in 2014.
Born on July 1, 1959, in Mohanpura in Ghazipur district, Sinha did his B. Tech in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, and his M. Tech in civil engineering from the same institute
Source : http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
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