Better Regulation Is The Priority

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width="118" height="147">Rarely do we find

a political leader who commands so much respect and faith from

his supporters and opponents alike. India has found such a leader

in the new prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. But his goodwill

and stature won’t make things easier for him. On the other

hand, in the parliamentary politics of numbers, he will have to

face contradictory pulls and pressures.

The early signals make us hopeful. Going

against the Sangh parivar’s wish, he has appointed someone

whom the business community trusts as finance minister. Even his

choice of commerce and industry ministers shows he gives a

priority to business and economy.

It is difficult to guess how much importance

the new BJP-led government will attach to telecom. What fuels

this apprehension is the fact that telecom has not even been

mentioned in the "National Agenda for Governance"

released by BJP and it allies. But on the positive side, BJP is a

party which has used technology most effectively. While it

started with audiotex and IVR in 1996, this time its website was

doing the job for it. BJP’s website is one of the most

updated and well-designed ones among Indian sites. These things

make one hopeful.

The new communication minister Buta Singh, a

veteran in Indian politics and his deputy Kabindra Purkayastha,

who also has wide experience as an erstwhile member of

Parliamentary Accounts Committee, have the ability to drive the

telecom agenda. At this stage, when a lot of decisions have to be

taken, we need people who can drive policies rather than just

implement them.

The major task before the government is to see

that the Indian user–common man and the business

organizations alike–benefits from the telecom reforms. The

government should also encourage user groups to come forward with

suggestions. However, at this stage of the market transition, the

only thing that can ensure a strong telecom growth is a good

regulatory framework. Regulation should be the top priority of

the new government.

The manifesto of the BJP already talks of a lot

of reforms. DoT corporatization, strengthening TRAI,

strengthening PSUs, and most radically replacing the Indian

Telegraph Act of 1885. We wish Atalji and his team all success in

their efforts to take India into the next millennium.