NEW DELHI: India will soon unveil a new National Telecom Policy (NTP) that promises to be more ‘inclusive’ and one that will have every stakeholder responsible for each decision and would be accountable to a central authority to be named later.
Unlike in the past, where the NTPs have been prepared by the telecom ministry and circulated to various ministries for their inputs and approvals, the proposed policy will be based on the suggestions on outlines envisaged by the telecom ministry.
“It is keeping in line with the Prime Minister’s Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas policy to engage and carry each ministry and department involved in telecom along with industry in drafting the NTP,” a senior official in the government involved in NTP draft told Express.
The current process involves the telecom ministry raising an issue and all ministries concerned providing their views.
“Earlier, we had a plan and on which we received comments. Now there is participation from the point when we start a discussion on either foreign direct investment, spectrum allocation or roll out in rural India. All the concerned ministries will be involved in framing it,” sources added.
Analysts feel that this will help the industry get clarity and will attract telecom companies to India.
“It is a great move because at a later stage it becomes difficult for new ideas to crystallise. A policy becomes much more robust in such a system,” said Jaijit Bhattacharya, government transformation expert and partner at KPMG.
The move is also aimed at improving the ease of doing business in India and making India an attractive destination.
“The new policy should address the problem of the telecom industry, which is bleeding and if that happens, foreign investments will automatically come,” says Bhattacharya.
However, the team in the telecom ministry is concerned about the time for the formulation of the new policy. Sources said the target is to complete it and send for Cabinet discussions before year-end. The new system should help them achieve it, provided all other stakeholders act at the same speed.