The government has said that it will initiate steps to revive ailing telecom PSUs MTNL and BSNL as it looks to arrest the gradual decline in the fortunes of the two companies that once dominated the Indian telecom market.
Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that steps will be taken on a priority basis to revive the two PSUs that have failed to ride the boom in the Indian telecom sector even as private operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea grew from strength to strength.
"I have found that MTNL and BSNL have not received as much attention as required. They need proper infrastructure support," Prasad said as he also urged the PSUs to lay a special emphasis on improving their services. "I have asked them to improve services for consumer satisfaction. The government will provide infrastructure support."
Communications and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that steps will be taken on a priority basis to revive the two PSUs that have failed to ride the boom in the Indian telecom sector even as private operators like Airtel, Vodafone and Idea grew from strength to strength.
"I have found that MTNL and BSNL have not received as much attention as required. They need proper infrastructure support," Prasad said as he also urged the PSUs to lay a special emphasis on improving their services. "I have asked them to improve services for consumer satisfaction. The government will provide infrastructure support."
And to keep a check on the operational efficiencies of the two companies, Prasad is getting a network operating system installed at his office to monitor all their towers and how they operate.
Speaking on the issue of spectrum trading and sharing, he said a final view will be taken on the matter shortly. Spectrum allocations will be done in a "transparent" manner. "The days of lobbying and favouritism are over. I have told my officers to work with courage and transparency."
Stressing on the need for increasing local manufacturing of electronics here, he said subsidies will be given to companies that set up greenfield facilities in 8 areas including Ghaziabad, Vadodara, Thane, Nashik and Aurangabad.
For greenfield electronics manufacturing clusters, the government has planned subsidies in locations like Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bhiwadi, Jabalpur and Hosur.
Prasad said that the government will also set up electronics development fund to assist venture investments in the technology field.
Speaking on the issue of spectrum trading and sharing, he said a final view will be taken on the matter shortly. Spectrum allocations will be done in a "transparent" manner. "The days of lobbying and favouritism are over. I have told my officers to work with courage and transparency."
Stressing on the need for increasing local manufacturing of electronics here, he said subsidies will be given to companies that set up greenfield facilities in 8 areas including Ghaziabad, Vadodara, Thane, Nashik and Aurangabad.
For greenfield electronics manufacturing clusters, the government has planned subsidies in locations like Bhopal, Hyderabad, Bhiwadi, Jabalpur and Hosur.
Prasad said that the government will also set up electronics development fund to assist venture investments in the technology field.
Source:-The Times of India
