Shourie Warns Against Predatory Pricing

Arun Shourie, the new minister for communications today cautioned telecom players against any 'predatory' pricing in this sector. Talking to the media at his Yojna Bhawan office, the minister said that he was fully committed to a transparent mechanism and the Government's role as a enabler in the sector. Shourie was replying to media questions immediately after taking charge of the new ministry, which he would handle along with the disinvestment portfolio. 

Shourie also said that he would ensure that no steps are taken to block technologies that could hinder the growth of telecom sector. "Since India has done very well in the areas of software and telecom, the emphasis should now be on achieving similar success in the hardware sector," he said. The new IT and Communication Minister also warned all players of severe penalties for non-fulfillment of commitments in areas like rural telephony. "No commitment should be written off whatsoever. Any non-fulfillment of commitment should attract sever penalties," he said.

Sending strong signals to the private sector, Shourie said all contenders should honor their commitments made while procuring licenses, be it for cellular or basic telephony. He also recalled the instance of license fee commitment made by the private cellular operators and later on getting migration package to revenue share regime as well as the rural telephony
commitments made by the basic telecom players. He refused to comment on the issue of privatization of MTNL and BSNL or their proposed merger. Shourie has already asked ministerial officials concerned to present him with a consolidated picture of issues concerning industry by Sunday evening.

Shubhendu Parth, Dataquest