Never any 'agreement' with Raja not to revise entry fee

"Union Minister of Home Affairs P. Chidambaram responds to the report “Chidambaram may not be out of 2G thicket yet,” that was published in The Hindu on February 16, 2012"

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Never any 'agreement' with Raja not to revise entry fee 

The licence to be corrupt

The country has seen scandals after scandals regarding across the state at various echelons of the county's federal structure...

The issue is just not that but the 'Babus' and 'Mantris' of the country have lost all moral authority and are unnecessarily lodging a verbal spat over another...

The Licence to be corrupt

Welcome show of judicial muscle

"The 2G judgment goes beyond telecom, spoiling the party for corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and big business."

The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : Welcome show of judicial muscle: The reverberations of the judgment actually extend far beyond telecom, crushing the subjective power of the government to issue licences and contracts in any sector like power, coal, minerals, mines, land, and even special economic zones (SEZ), that allocates scarce national resources.

This effectively attacks the fountainhead of all large corruption linked to government contracts.

You have to pay for wrong calls too, Telenor

"The multinational may have only itself to blame for its angst."

Telenor is upset with last week's Supreme Court judgment cancelling its licence, along with 121 others, to provide telecom services in the country.  The Hindu : Opinion / Op-Ed : You have to pay for wrong calls too, Telenor. Telenor's angst is understandable given the financial losses that it is now bound to suffer but then the company has only itself to blame.

"Caveat emptor" or buyer beware is a first principle in any commercial transaction and Uninor is guilty of ignoring it. Telenor probably believed - mistakenly in hindsight - that the Indian system can be “worked” any which way.

There is also an incorrect view among some that the judgment sends all the wrong signals to overseas investors. The judgment clearly underlines the supremacy of law in the country just as much as it provides clarity in future policy, something that foreign investors should welcome.

The Court Strikes Back

The ripple effects of the cancellation of 2G licences could spread throughout the economy

The Court Strikes Back

The Supreme Court's cancellation of 122 licenses have evoked mixed responses. While some share a "feeling of Schadenfreude," the others see it as an ominous sign for the already-teetering investment scenario in India. Much is at stake even for the young and old incumbents, if and when they are allowed to bid in the spectrum auctions spirited with new rules which are to be laid down by TRAI.

Consumers might not necessarily lose, suggests the writer, for the competition for prices will still be ongoing "with at least six players, including a state-owned one in each circle."

It is to be seen if lawsuits will now emerge questioning the spectrum allotments in the past, for instance, the allocations during the Pramod Mahajan period. "How far back shall we go to unearth the wrongs of the past?"

Also called into question are the allocation of natural resources, even if the law suit was about radio spectrum, because of the condemning the 'first-come-first-served' principle, which is prominently used in "the hugely controversial business of mining." Certainly, the principle will have to be scrapped across several sectors.

-The Times of India, February 6, 2012

Welcome Reprieve

UPA must turn Chidambaram's exoneration into an opportunity

Welcome Reprieve

The Congress should seize the opportunity "to clean house, and go into the next Lok Sabha election on a plank of revamped governance and strong anti-corruption measures," says the editor. He adds that if Chidambaram was indicted, the opposition could have gone for the Prime Minister's throat, in effect, leading towards an early election.

-The Times of India, February 6, 2012

Fruit of the poisonous tree

There is hardly any industry in India today where unscrupulous companies have not sought to use their nexus with elected leaders and government officials to get ahead in their quest for quick and easy profits. 

The lesson for corporate India from the Supreme Court's landmark judgment is that there is little to be gained — and a lot to be lost — from doing business this way and hope that it will forever remain etched in their institutional memory. The Hindu : Opinion / Editorial : Fruit of the poisonous tree: 

On the other hand, even if we accept that Mr. Raja took the UPA leadership for a ride, what is inexplicable — and unforgivable — is the government's failure immediately to investigate the scam despite its broad contours being so visible. 

Even after the Comptroller & Auditor General's (CAG) magisterial report exposed what had transpired, senior ministers refused to accept the fact that there had been any loss to the exchequer.

You're Free To Call Me Stupid

You're Free To Call Me Stupid

India's global status is now under question. Since the last two years, India has seen itself on the wrong side of the good for all the "2G scam, corruption, urban chaos, an administrative near-paralysis on decision-making, a dysfunctional parliament with a do-nothing opposition and an apparent official unwillingness to take up the responsibilities that go with a global role"

And now, freedom of speech and expression in a secular democracy is under arrest.