Articles
Atalji’s Remarkable Reforms in Telecom & I.T Sectors
Dt: 27/8/18
Atalji’s Remarkable Reforms
in Telecom & I.T Sectors
Dr T.H.Chowdary*
Jatasya hi dhruvo mrityurdhruvam janma mrithasyacha
Thasmadapariharyardhe nathvam sochitumarhasi – B.G 2.27
Death is certain for the one who is born. Rebirth is as certain for the one who died. Therefore, you should not grieve over what cannot be avoided.
The passing away of the Maha Purush, Bharat Ratna Sri Atal Behari Vajpayi ji need not be a matter of grief as death is inevitable for everyone but it should be an occasion when what he stood for ; what he and how he achieved and what lessons we can draw from such a towering person, are thought over to build a prosperous, powerful, intellectual and ethical Bharat to be a Jagadguru once again.
2. Sanghatan ( consolidation); Sangharsh ( struggle); Samrachana (construction); Samarasata (harmony) and Sadbhavana (good will) characterise the life and struggle and achievements of Vajpayee ji.
3. While there are several achievements of Atalji, I will particularly mention those in the Information Technology (I.T) and Telecommunications sectors where revolutionary reforms were daringly formulated and implemented by Vajpayi ji as Prime Minister ( 1998 to 2004). At the onset of elections to the Lok Sabha, since 1984 I had been preparing a memo as a policy document for incorporation in the election manifestos of every party in the
country. A little mention of it was for the first time included in the Manifesto of the Congress party in 1984 under Rajiv’s response. The Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) extensively included what I have been proposing in its election manifesto for the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. In the first week of May 1998, the Prime Minister Vajpayi ji decided to constitute the Prime Minister’s National Task Force on Information Technology & Software ( PM –NTFIT &SW) .
4. I was called to Delhi by Advaniji to whom the task of constituting the Task Force was entrusted by Vajpayi ji. I suggested that Sri Chandra Babu Naidu should be the Chairman of this Task Force as I was already his IT Adviser in A.P we have been implementing path-breaking programs utilising IT and Telecommunication networks in A.P. Advaniji said, “how can we make Naidu the Chairman as he is the kingpin of our opposition, the United Front.” I submitted that I made it clear to Sri Naidu that I was in the TDP, the letters standing for Telecommunications Development Party (TDP) and not the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). I was with him to use the Chief Minister to promote the total de-regulation of telecommunications, liberalisation , privatisation and extensive use of IT and software for purposes like e-governance and e-commerce and so on. If I could get Sri Naidu’s consent would you make him Chairman, I asked. As Advaniji and Vajpayiji and other leaders in the BJP are for national development transcending politics Advaniji agreed. I got the consent of Sri Naidu and Advaniji got the consent of Vajpayiji to make Naidu co-Chairman . The NTF consisted of crusaders for liberalisation and end of monopoly in the telecom sector – Sri N Vital, Dr N. Seshagiri, Prof. Indiresan, besides myself and a few chosen others. The co-option of Sri Chandra Babu Naidu of TDP into the Task Force was the beginning of his entry into the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and partnership with the BJP in the 1999 and 2004 elections to the Lok Sabha. The Task Force, overcoming the resistance of the vested interest in the Department of Telecom (DOT) and statists made 108 recommendations within a few months of its constitution. They were accepted within in a week of their presentation and issued as government policy. The highlights, all under the inspiration and commitment of Sri Vajpayi ji are:
· Unlimited number of licences for the provision of internet services in one or many cities or states
· No licence fee at all; no revenue share
· Use of wireless by service providers to pick up customers
· Interconnection to the worldwide internet networks by the licenced companies through VSAT (very small aperture terminals), earth stations of the communication satellite systems).
5. This meant the total by-pass of the telecom networks of both DOT and the cell telephone companies Telcos. The policy was commended as the democratisation of knowledge and universal affordability by even the poor. Sri Vajpayi ji, both at the first and the last meeting of the Taskforce was very happy that his vision is reflected in the report. He particularly thanked us .
6. The second revolutionary decision of Vajpayiji is was what has come to be known as National Telecom Policy- ’99 (NTP-99). The NTP 1994 promulgated by Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao brought private companies (P-Telcos) into the provision of mobile radio telephony imposed the most obnoxious condition of the licencees paying huge licence fees even before they constructed the network, got subscribers and revenues. They were bleeding. The loans that they took from banks for construction of the network could not be serviced. The price for the mobile telephony was fixed by the policy maker - licensor - operator DOT itself at Rs. 16 per mnt , the caller as well as the called party paying. The P-Telcos contrasted their license conditions with those of the Internet Service Providers (ISPs). They wanted to be bailed out. We suggested that those licence conditions should be modified by a new policy. They should be migrated to revenue sharing instead of upfront payment of the licence fees. Vajpay ji immediately and very easily understood the logic – let there be chicks, let them grow, let them lay eggs , let them turn out to be golden, we will have a share of them”. The P-Telcos were migrated from crippling upfront huge licence fee payment regime to one of revenue sharing. The prices for service crashed from Rs. 16 to 50 paise per mnt and the called party need not to pay. The Opposition especially the communists alleged a scam - the P-Telcos paid bribes to get the new policy. The government is put to loss of thousands of crores of Rupees. Atal ji remained unmoved. We said that when there was amrutha manthan ( churning of the Ocean for the nectar) poison came before amrita (nectar) . Just as Lord Shiva contained the poison in his throat and allowed the nectar to come, Vajpayi ji unmoved by slanderous accusations implemented the NTP-99 that laid the foundation for the rapid take up of mobile telephone in this country. The NTP –‘99 of Sri Atal Behari Vajpayi and later developments made me realise my slogan, haath haath mein telephone; gaon gaon mein internet
7. Today, we have 116 crore mobile telephones for a 130 cr population. And the prices have so come down that the poor, even beggars are able to afford telephone and other telecom services.
8. The third revolutionary reform that Vajpayi ji brought about was the removal of inequality in the competition between P-Telcos and the government’s DOT. The DOT is the policy maker, licensor and service provider ; deprived of its privileges it was obstructing in several ways the growth of the P-Telcos and their services . The National Long Distance Dialling (NSD) and International Subscriber Dialling (ISD) were still the monopoly of the DOT. These require only 16% of the investment in the network but they produce two thirds of the revenues. In order to bring about out a level -playing field between the P-Telcos and the DOTs telecom services we proposed and Vajpayji agreed that the DOT’s telecoms services should be constituted into a state -owned company and that it’s STD and ISD monopoly should be ended and that the PSU should compete in the provision of every type of service P-Telcos offer . How this was brought about is a masterpiece of planning. The Communication Minister, a coalition partner, the officers and the unionised workers as well as the leftist parties were bitterly opposed. We suggested that there should be a Chief Minister ‘s conference to deliberate only one matter the further expansions of every type of telecom & IT service in the country . On the 15 of July 2000 the Chief Minister’s Conference was held in Delhi. I, as crusader for total telecom de-monopolisation, met with Chief Ministers Jyothi Basu and Karunanidhi from whom bitter criticism could be forthcoming . Sri Naidu was assisted to make a presentation . He did bring out what is involved and what further is required for larger and quicker penetration of the IT & telecoms services. At the end of it Sri Karuna Nidhi blasted the DOT . Vajpayi ji immediately concluded the meeting saying nothing but the following, “ I have decided to constitute the services of the DOT into a state-owned corporation effective from 2nd Oct 2000 . The DOT’s monopoly on national long distance and international dialling will be ended from that date. The telecom PSU could enter into competitive provision of every type of service the P-Telcos are giving “. Immediately thereafter, he left the meeting. The Communications Minister Sri Ram Vilas Paswan and Secretary of the DOT Sri Shyamal Ghosh were stunned ; so were the Chief Ministers . The strategy was if he stayed on, there would be endless discussions and a committee would have been asked for and agreed. Committee means delay and no decision. This whole thing was pre-planned . That was the stunning finale to the process of total liberalisation of telecom & IT services that was started by the first Bharatiya Pradhan Manthri, Sri PV Narasimha Rao by his National Telecom Policy 1994 . It is these two Bharatiya Pradhana Manthris who determinedly, even as their parties were minority in the Lok Sabha, deftly and wisely steered through the NTPs 1994 and 1999. If today India’s information and telephone services are ubiquitous and affordable by the common man. The credit must go to the Bharatiyata -inspired Prime Ministers Naramsimha Rao and Atal Behari Vajpayi ji. I feel fulfilled that my more than four decades long (since 1967) struggle from within and outside the DOT could democratise and “peoplesify” ( this is the phrase I used instead of privatise) the telecom and information and software services companies are earning 120 bln (Rs. 8,40,000) per year in foreign exchange . They are providing jobs directly for 5 mln graduates and indirectly for about three times more persons .
9. Atalji created a Disinvestment Ministry with Sri Arun Shourie as the cabinet minister. During Ataljis’ tenure, 16 PSUs were disinvited. VSNL (of which I was the founding Chairman & Managing Director) and the Hindustan Teleprinters in the telecom sectors, together with BALCO , IPCL, Hindustan Zinc, Modern Foods etc., were disinvested. Great projects like Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana, ( 55 lakh kmts) ; national connectivity through National Highways ; National Power Grid ; National Telecom Networks; Anthyodaya ; National Commission for Farmers; Sarva Siksha Abhyan; the 86th amendment to the constitution in Dec 2002 legislating the Right to Education; the FRBM Act of Aug 2003 , demonopolisation of insurance sector and permitting FDI in life insurance business ; the Electricity Act of 2003 opening the power sector for private companies and the most impressive assertion of India’s prowess in science & technology by carrying out the nuclear test Pokhran-2 in May 1998 itself are some of the most outstanding achievements of Atal Behari Vajpayi ji . Advaniji and Vajpayji were a duo like Nara and Narayana. Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are in their image. We should deserve that legacy and build up on it. This can be the greatest tribute we can pay to this great son of Bharat.
10. The Pragna Bharati of the two Telugu states is happy to recall that Atalji was felicitated by it at a large public meeting in Hyderabad in 1993 for his successful negation of Pakistan‘s charge of human rights violation by India in J&K. He led India’s delegation to the special session of the Human Rights Commissions of the United Nations in Geneva. Pakistan was discomfited when its resolution was defeated. Pragna Bharati was blessed by Atalji a second time, when in Hyderabad on 11th Jan 1996 he inaugurated the Vivek 1996, the two-day Youth Convention organised by Pragna Bharati jointly with Vivekananda Yuva Kendra. ( 2,035 words)
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