THE 2G SALE SCAM- astounding money.... another one of those huge money scams....

From the time allegations of misappropriation during the bidding for allocation of 2G spectrum surfaced, till Telecom Minister A. Raja's ouster, high drama charged both politics in Delhi and Tamil Nadu. So what exactly is the Spectrum Scam that led to all this?

WHAT IS SPECTRUM SCAM?

• 2G licenses issued to private telecom players at throwaway prices in 2008
• Spectrum scam has cost the government Rs. 1.76 lakh crore
• Rules and procedures flouted while issuing licenses

 

 

PEOPLE INVOLVED

Politicians involved

• A.Raja-  the Ex-Minister of Communication and Information who sold the licenses

Corporations involved

• Unitech Group
• Swan Telecom
• Videocon Telecommunications Ltd
• S Tel
• Reliance Communications
• Tata Communications

Media persons involved

• Nira Radia- a corporate lobbyist whose conversations with politicians and corporate entities were recorded by the government and leaked creating the Nira Radia tapes Controversy.
• Barkha Dutt- an NDTV journalist alleged to have lobbied for A. Raja's appointment as minister
• Vir Sanghvi, a Hindustan Times editor alleged to have edited articles to reduce blame in the Nira Radia tapes

WHAT ARE THE CHARGES ON FORMER TELECOM MINISTER RAJA?

• CHEAP TELECOM LICENSES                                                                                           
• Entry fee for spectrum licenses in 2008 pegged at 2001 prices                                                
• Mobile subscriber base had shot up to 350 million in 2008 from 4 million in 2001

• NO PROCEDURES FOLLOWED 
• Rules changed after the game had begun            
• Licenses issued on a first-come-first-served basis
• No proper auction process followed, no bids invited
• Raja ignored advice of TRAI, Law Ministry, Finance Ministry
• TRAI had recommended auctioning of spectrum at market rates

•   FAVOURITISM, CORPORATES ENCASH PREMIUM
• Unitech, Swan Telecom got licenses without any prior telecom experience
• Swan Telecom given license even though it did not meet eligibility criteria
• Swan got license for Rs. 1537 crore, sold 45% stake to Etisalat for Rs. 4200 crore
• Unitech Wireless got license for Rs. 1661 crore, sold 60% stake for Rs. 6200 crore
• All nine companies paid DoT only Rs. 10,772 crore for 2G licences

The discussion around the reactions to the 2G spectrum scam became known in the media as the Nira Radia tapes controversy. 

 

Courtesy: www.ndtv.com & www.wikipedia.org