Telecom minister Kapil Sibal has got it all wrong when he said spectrum has no value . He further gave this flawed argument that spectrum is free and there fore cannot be sold. It can be given free, like giving free land for infrastructure development or giving subsidised kerosene to the poor,reasoned the minister.
He went on to make further sensational statement on the national TV channel , since spectrum has no value the former minister Raja caused zero loss to the exchequer. And that CAG ‘s estimated presumptuous loss between Rs 58oooCr and 1.76 Cr to the government is erroneous.
Now every body around the world knows, spectrum is a scarce commodity and hence has a tremendous value.World over governments have sold spectrum for billions of dollars .
Telecom companies in Europe bought 3G spectrum for $ 100 b. UK government alone earned $ 34 b through 3G spectrum auction. (guardian. uk ) Germany collected around $5 b for 4G spectrum. UK is planning to auction 4G spectrum by the end of March 2012.
Thus minister Sibal’s claim that spectrum has no value cannot stand close scrutiny. The minister has swooped down like a knight in shining armour to defend the UPA government mired in blatant corruption, through his flawed thinking . The tearing hurry in which the minister let out these statements only exposed his utter ignorance on the spectrum valuation.
Minister Kapil Sibal may be a brilliant lawyer. But it is said that truth is the best defence. And the truth is, spectrum has value. 2G spctrum has more value than 3G. For the latter is more for broadband usage while the former is for voice and text, which in a poor country like India has many fold user base and therefore more value.
Spectrum is an economic good and not a free good.And governments across the world ensure that they get the right revenue by fair & transparent sale . Our government too cannot fritter away the opportunity to raise revenue by looking the other way. 2G spectrum loss is genuine and must be recovered from the corrupt beneficiaries.
Now CAG has reiterated that it is 100% correct in its estimation of the loss. Raja had to resign for his abuse of power and loss to the exchequer.Minister Kapil Sibal too should resign from the telecom ministry for attempting to misguide the nation through his flawed thinking and continue the good job ,that the minister is doing for reforming the education sector.
It’s difficult to ride on two horses, when one of them is utterly sick .
