'3G mobile auction can be concluded in sixty days'

By siliconindia   |   Thursday, 11 June 2009, 23:18 IST   |    3 Comments
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'3G mobile auction can be concluded in sixty days'
Bangalore: "Once the cabinet grants approval, the auction can be concluded within 60 days", says an official from telecom ministry. The communication ministry is expected to approach Union cabinet within week's time with a road map for the 3G auction. The government originally planned to auction radio bandwidth, or spectrum, for 20 of India's 22 telecom service areas last October. But the move has been deferred twice after the finance ministry suggested that the starting price of INR20.20 billion be doubled. Now, the ministry of communication and information technology is keen to fast-track the auction of 3G mobile license. The government is also keen to allow more telecom operators to provide second generation (2G) mobile services to increase competition in the sector, Telecommunication Minister, Raja said. "With the advent of new service providers, tariffs will also come down," the minister said. Besides 3G mobile auctions, Raja, who is also the Information Technology Minister, is in talks with finance ministry to seek an extension of tax benefits for local outsourcing companies "for at least two years." Communication Ministry has been requesting for five year extension of the tax holiday scheme for export oriented units and software parks. Software companies registered under the Software Technology Parks of India scheme don't have to pay tax on their profits from exports. The scheme is scheduled to expire in March 2010. A final call on this proposal will be taken by finance ministry, which may be cautious of granting a long extension given the forgone tax revenue this measure entails. It is expected that tax holiday will find a mention in the Union Budget for 2009-10.