Chirag 5 Report post Posted November 7, 2004 India's Telecom Regulator Seeks Financial Autonomy November 4, 2004 BANGALORE, India -- India's telecommunication watchdog urged the government Thursday to give it financial autonomy by allowing it to receive a share of revenues from phone and television operators. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or TRAI, said it wants 0.05 percent of the 700 billion rupees (US$15.45 billion; euro 12.11 billion) Indian phone and cable television operators earn each year. With such a levy, the authority would be able ``to meet its recurring expenditure and also have a provision for capital expenditure,'' it said in a statement. TRAI, currently funded by the government, regulates private and government-run telecommunication companies. Prabir Pukayastha, an analyst with the Delhi Science Forum, a non-governmental organization, said a regulator funded by such levies, rather than government grants or aid from multilateral agencies, could operate with greater independence. India's telecom sector is booming, with the number of mobile and landline phone users in this country of more than 1 billion people rising to 8 percent in September from 4 percent in mid-2002. More than 40 million homes also have access to cable television. India's phone operators have a combined revenue of 550 billion rupees (US$12.14 billion; euro 9.52 billion), while cable operators earn 150 billion rupees (US$3.31 billion; euro 2.6 billion) a year. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Utsav 0 Report post Posted November 7, 2004 Great info dude. TRAI should get the share. It will also reduce GOI expenditure on the same. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
