“Better Ties With Industry Will Ensure Good Services”

In the Railways, Manoj Sinha is known as a “doer”. Now, as the new minister of state (independent charge) for communications, Sinha hopes to usher in better services for consumers, even as he expects the industry to invest more in the sector. Excerpts from an interview:

Resolving the call drop problem is going to be your top priority, right? So will we see an improvement in 4-5 months?
I have not said so. The day I took charge of the ministry, journalists asked me this question. I conceded that call drop is a problem before us. I said that in the days to come, probably in the next 4-5 months, there’ll be a qualitative improvement in this regard. This is TRAI’s mandate. As the communications minister, I understand that it’s my responsibility that the people get good services as consumers. Along with TRAI, we would definitely take measures in this regard.

By September end, we will have the biggest telecom spectrum auction ever. The total reserve price for spectrum will be around Rs 5.66 lakh crore. Is it a challenge or an opportunity?
It’s not a challenge. If it’s carried out in a transparent manner, and no one is unduly favoured, I don’t think it’s a challenge. With the availability of more spectrum, the problem of call drops too would be taken care of.

What do you think of the issue of Net Neutrality?
The Union government has already spelt out its stand on Net Neutrality and we stick to it.

Representatives of big players like Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal’s Bharti Airtel, Kumar Mangalam Birla’s Idea, and UK-based Vodafone, and others are queuing up to meet you. It appears you are taking them very seriously — you are also re-tweeting observations of industry captains…
One should bear in mind that I am the telecom minister; not a minister for BSNL and MTNL. The share of BSNL and MTNL in this sector is 10 per cent. Naturally, whosoever the service providers, we want to have cordial ties with them, so that the consumers get good services and the industry invests more so that we can take the sector forward.

In the Railways, your image has been that of a doer. Do you think that will help you in this ministry as well?
In the Railways, Union minister Suresh Prabhu has a good vision. He had delegated to me a number of responsibilities. Thus I got an opportunity to perform, which I did honestly to the best of my abilities. Now, the PM has posed faith in me by allocating this ministry — I will do my best to live up to the expectations. This ministry is not limited to telephony and data. This ministry can also contribute in other spheres — be it health or education. In the days to come we will have concrete proposals on these.

BharatNet is part of the ambitious Digital India Mission. So far, however, the performance has not been satisfactory in delivering broadband connectivity to rural India. What do you plan to do on this front?
I don’t buy the argument that satisfactory results have not come in this mission. The department has set certain targets and we will ensure that we achieve those targets in a time-bound manner.

You continue to be an MoS in the Railways. Don’t you think it will be too much of a burden?
A new minister of state has been appointed in the Ministry of Railways. So, under the leadership of Prabhu, the ministry will function effectively. There will be my contribution, too. But I will focus more on telecommunications and post and telegraph. (My predecessor) Ravi Shankar Prasad launched several initiatives. I will take them forward.

The CAG came out with findings that revenues worth Rs 46,000 crore were under-reported by six telecom players. What will you do to recover the dues?
This is a misrepresentation of facts. The CAG has not spoken of Rs 46,000 crore. According to the CAG report, there’s been a loss of revenue amounting to Rs 12,500 crore. The Department of Telecommunications also got a special audit done. Keeping in mind the legal process, we will ensure that there’s no loss of revenue to the government of India.

One feature that stood out in the recent cabinet reshuffle was that mass-based leaders were put in key positions...
This is the prerogative of the Prime Minister and he must have weighed the pros and cons while undertaking such an initiative.

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