The Telecom Ministry has informed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that it has issued show cause notices to 13 companies for termination of their licences, who are stated to be “ineligible” for getting them. Based on the report of the CAG, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has “issued show cause notices to 13 companies for termination of the 85 new licences issued in 2008. The companies have given their replies which are under examination,” DoT said in its reply to PAC’s questionnaire.
But, the Ministry again rejected the allegation of any notional loss due to issuance of 122 new licences in 2008 and said the premium placed on the scarce resource from the perspective of a producer need not necessarily translate into a loss when seen from the view point of the consumer and public welfare.
