Telecom Commission abdicates its responsibility

The United Progressive Alliance’s uber-enthusiasm for collective responsibility appears to have rubbed off on the bureaucracy. How else does one explain the Telecom Commission’s decision to leave it to the empowered group of ministers (EGoM) to decide the reserve price of telecom spectrum in the upcoming auctions? The 23-year-old body, set up by an administrative notification, was given a sweeping mandate over the telecom industry; policy formulation is one of its critical functions. And, given the controversies convulsing the issue right now, there is little doubt that pricing telecom spectrum is a critical component of policy-making.

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