New Delhi, December 13
Looking to expedite the 2G spectrum auction process, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has come out with a Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) to start spectrum auction from January 23 cutting down the proposed 60-day process to 42 days.

As per the NIA brought out late last night, last date for bidders to put in their applications would be January 4 and the mock auction will be held on January 21-22.

The DoT will hold a pre-bid conference on December 20 and last date for companies to seek clarifications on rules stated in 'Notice Inviting Applications' is December 28.

"The award of spectrum in 1,800 MHz and 900 MHz band shall be conducted as a single process. A common notice has been issued only for the sake of convenience," the NIA said.

The government is looking at mopping up about Rs 48,685 crore from the auction of spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz bands.

The government has provisioned garnering Rs 40,874.5 crore from spectrum revenue in the Budget. This includes upfront money from the auction and various fees levied on airwaves used for commercial mobile communications.

The DoT has come out with the NIA within three days of the Union Cabinet giving its nod to the minimum price for 1,800 MHz band and 900 MHz spectrum as put forward and approved by the EGoM. The NIA is silent on the spectrum usage charge issue.

Under the existing rules, operators are required to pay a fee for using spectrum. This fee is determined on the quantum of spectrum an operator holds ranging between 1 and 8% of annual revenue.

The TRAI proposes to change this to a flat 3% irrespective of the quantum of spectrum.

This has been objected by broadband players such as Reliance Jio as they pay only 1% as the spectrum charge and would end up paying more if the fee is fixed at 3%. In the 1,800 MHz band, they have the option to pay 33% upfront while for the 900 MHz band, upfront payment is 25%.

They get a two-year moratorium payment of balance amount of one time charges for the spectrum, which shall be recovered in 10 equal annual instalments.

Total spectrum being put up for auction in 1,800 MHz band is 403.2 MHz acros all 22 telecom service areas while in 900 MHz band, it is 46 MHz in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

In case all spectrum gets sold and companies opt for deferred payment mode then the government will be able to get about Rs 15,200 crore this fiscal from direct sale of airwaves.

Gurgaon, December 13
HDFC Bank today e-launched 10 new branches in Haryana from here, increasing the tally to 213.

These branches were inaugurated by Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner S Vidyarthi. Bank’s country head (branch banking), Smita Bhagat was also present on the occasion. Four of the branches launched today are located in Sikanderpur Badha, Dhunela, Naharpur Kasan and Hayat - all villages located in Gurgaon district. Hence, the number of bank's branches in this district has gone up to 45.

The other branches are in Samaipur (Faridabad), Pai (Kaithal), Rair Kalan (Panipat), Sanpera (Sonepat), and Kaimla and Phaprana (Karnal). Bhagat said eight of the branches are located in rural un-banked areas.

The geographical spread of branches aligns with the bank’s efforts towards financial inclusion and its emphasis on reaching out to people in under-banked and un-banked locations, she added.

New Delhi, December 13
India’s national carrier Air India is set to join Star Alliance, with the 28-member global airlines' grouping today deciding to clear the entry of the airline.

At a meeting in Vienna, the Star Alliance unanimously decided to lift the earlier suspension of the process for Air India entry into the grouping, Air India officials said here.

"We are confident that the association with Star Alliance would go a long way to strengthen both of us," Air India CMD Rohit Nandan was quoted as having said after the meeting in Vienna.

The Alliance had put the proposal for Air India's entry into the grouping on hold since July 2011 on the grounds that the airline had not fulfilled major conditions to join it, a charge the Indian carrier had then denied.

Once the airline becomes a member, its passengers would enjoy major benefits, including seamless transfers on travel across the world, more frequent flyer mileage points, code-sharing leading to a wider choice of flights and access to over 1,000 lounges at airports worldwide.

The Star Alliance network offers 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. Its 28 members include top airlines like Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air Canada, Air China, Air New Zealand, ANA, South African Airways, Austrian, THAI, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways. — PTI

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