Addressing the CII Partnership Summit 2021, Mr Vaishnav said that the consultation process on spectrum pricing is currently underway and urged the industry to participate in the discussions and give suggestions to TRAI.
Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on Monday said the “public good” element in spectrum pricing is now widely recognized, leading to a changed thought process that focuses on maximizing revenue and maximizing services to the poor. Wants to strike a balance between
Addressing the CII Partnership Summit 2021, Shri Vaishnav said that the consultation process Spectrum pricing is currently on and urged the industry to participate in the discussion and suggest to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the issue.
“They [TRAI] Will come up with a final document, based on which the government will take a decision. But the thought process is that we have to make it affordable. This is a very significant change in thinking and COVID made us realize the importance of telecom…everything went digital,” Mr Vaishnav said.
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The nation and the entire society today recognizes that spectrum is a “public good” element in pricing, Mr Vaishnav said and recalled that earlier spectrum was seen as a resource from which to maximize revenue.
“Today there is a balance in the thought process that… between maximizing revenue and providing maximum service to the poor… there has to be a balance… somewhere it must be struck. That balance is in the consultation process in the country today,” They said.
Mr Vaishnav, who is the Minister of Electronics and IT as well as Railways, further said that the Internet has brought with it opportunities and challenges and the rules are focusing on ensuring a safe environment for all users.
“…the Internet brings good things as well as bad things. How do we approach challenges in the right way. A lot of thought processes have gone on regulation and this is in line with the global thinking that social media, big technology , Internet… balance has to be brought,” said the minister.
Listing out the various challenges faced by countries across the world, the Minister also drew attention to the impact of ‘Big Tech’ on democracies and societies.
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“… the impact of big technology on our democracy, our society, the security, the safety of our children … This is a major issue, the way Big Tech can change our thinking, Big Tech can influence our decision-making. Can change our behaviour. Aspects can make a fundamental difference in any election. So this is a huge challenge that the entire humanity is facing today,” Mr. Vaishnav said.
To a query on the programs or subsidies required for the transition of feature phone users to smartphones in the country, the minister said that India has taken major steps to promote the manufacture of mobile phones through policies and initiatives.
“Today, India is the second largest mobile phone manufacturer globally. With such an ecosystem, which has evolved over the last 4-5 years, the cost of mobile phones has come down in a significant way to less than ₹10,000. This is an important price point, as with that price point it becomes affordable for the lowest income group in the society,” the minister said.
More such initiatives are being taken by the government to boost component and chip manufacturing in India and further reduce supply chain costs.
“With that ecosystem, the cost of smartphones will come down further and this will further bring down the prices and make it more affordable,” Mr. Vaishnav said.
To a question about the risk of cyber warfare amid geopolitical tensions, the minister said there should be an understanding among like-minded countries about the cyber threat.
“As a global society, we must ensure that countries that use cyber-threat as a weapon of the state must be clearly told that this is not the way humanity has to move forward, ” They said.
India is investing heavily in technology, processes and training to deal with cyber threats, and has “very successfully” thwarted some incidents of cyber threats committed by “certain sections” in recent times.
“Many serious threats have also been thwarted,” he said.
Asked whether India will be a leader in setting global standards around data protocols for like-minded countries, Mr Vaishnav said policy makers across the world are grappling with ways to tackle the new challenges that need to be addressed by technology and social distancing. media has presented.
“Today, there is a very important brainstorming going on at the level of policy makers… When I interact with my counterparts in Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, Australia… Ministers responsible for technology everywhere, Grapp Same point… Are children safe? Is my data privacy maintained? Can I say yes, democracy is safe. Can’t it be effected on such a large scale?
Global policy makers are also dealing with issues such as fake new, and other technology-related challenges.
He said, “…is society becoming more polarized because of everyday connectivity, which we thought would democratize the whole thing and society would become more cohesive… would it move in the opposite direction? These are questions that top leaders and organizations around the world are facing, he said.
“I think the time has come for all of us to have a new thought process, a new agreement on this. The way the United Nations emerged, the way a new global after World War II came in the 1940s. The system emerged… Similar effort is needed at this time. India will participate, India will be the leader in it and we are deeply involved in these discussions at every level, within our country and in all international forums, Said Mr Vaishnav.
Emphasizing that India is moving towards an investment-driven recovery, Shri Vaishnav pointed out that the Ministry of Railways alone is making a capital infusion of $15 billion and is on track to achieve this target by mid-March 2022 .
“We have already reached 60% of this target,” said Mr. Vaishnav.
Touching upon the country’s increasing focus on clean energy to tackle climate change, Shri Vaishnav informed that Indian Railways aims to achieve Net Zero by 2030, for which plans have been drawn up over the next 2-3 years.
He also said that around 40 GW renewable energy tenders will be floated, which will attract high volume of investment, including from abroad.
The CII Partnership Summit 2021 has been organized in association with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
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