5G SPECTRUM AUCTION

PREZ POLL

Constitution Club. Some of them said they didn’t want to share a stage with the Congress, others claimed they were not invited.

The meeting also veered from its original issue — of finding a candidate — to the larger goals of Opposition unity. Banerjee slammed Enforcement Directorate (ED) for their “motivated grilling” of Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders such as Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee at the “behest of Narendra Modi”; PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti pointed how her party and National Conference were rivals but now “fought together”.

Another meeting is likely to be held on June 20 or 21.

Leader of the Opposition, Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, said, “We must remain united and disciplined and not score political points against each other. The unity we demonstrate now will have implications going well beyond the Presidential polls.” Communist Party of India leader

Binoy Viswam remarked, “This is a positive initiative in the correct direction. This is a prelude to the bigger battle of 2024.”

On the BJP’S side, Singh spoke to Banerjee, Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati, Odisha CM Patnaik, Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, Kharge, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha founder Shibu Soren, and Pawar, said a person aware of the matter. Singh spoke to Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Janata Dal (United) is an ally of the BJP. Nadda spoke to Meghalaya chief minister and National People’s Party chief Conrad Sangma, National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah, and leaders of the All Jharkhand Student Union, Naga People’s Front and some independents, said a second person aware of the details.

In the Opposition meeting, Pawar found support from all parties but he maintained that he wants to remain connected to the people and has no ambition to fight for the country’s top post.

Banerjee, who played a key role in trying to persuade Pawar, later said, “If Sharad Pawar agrees, it is okay. But he said he is not interested. If he agrees everyone will give him support. Otherwise, the name should come from the political parties. They will consult Sharad ji and others. But I think it was good that after so many months, Opposition parties sat together.”

According to two leaders aware of matter, Banerjee also proposed Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Farooq Abdullah as candidates, but no further discussion took place. Even National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, Farooq’s son, suggested, “The names can be considered later. At this stage, let’s have more discussions,” the two leaders said.

“I was asked if I would consider contesting if a consensus around my name was to arise and I said I would need time to think about it,” Gopalkrishna Gandhi told HT. He was the Opposition’s nominee for the election of vice-president in 2017. He fought and lost to incumbent Venkaiah Naidu. mop-up,” said the person quoted above, asking not to be named.

The government set the base price for the 3300-3600MHZ band, a stretch of airwaves that is best suited for high-speed 5G networks, at ₹317 crore on a panindia basis, a 36% reduction from the ₹492 crore it had kept in 2018 when the spectrum remained unsold.

A senior official at a telco said the Cabinet decisions was a setback as the industry was expecting a further reduction in spectrum prices and the extension of the licence period from 20 to 30 years. Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea have been seeking a 90-95% cut in base prices to make 5G services more affordable. Telecom operators are expected to spend as much as ₹1.1 trillion in the upcoming auctions, ratings agency ICRA Ltd estimated.

While the auction is expected to cost the bidders billions of dollars, the pay-off is uncertain, at least in the near term. Bharti

Airtel and Vodafone Idea are still emerging from a tariff war with Reliance Jio, a rivalry that has shredded the finances of many telcos. The latest auction is likely to strain the precarious finances of Vodafone Idea further. Against this backdrop, analysts do not expect the telcos to go into an aggressive bidding war for the spectrum.

The auction will start on July 26, the government said on Wednesday, after the cabinet cleared the proposal.

“This is probably one of the most awaited spectrum auctions, which will bring significant advancements for the industry and consumers,” said Peeyush Vaish, partner and telecom sector leader, Deloitte India.

According to the notice inviting applications, the formal document that lays down the auction guidelines and procedures, bidders can apply by July 8 for 72,097.85 MHZ of spectrum that will be on sale, including 5G airwaves in the 3300-3600 MHZ band.

AGNIVEERS CAPF

Committee on Security, the programme seeks to recruit personnel, including women, for only four years with a provision to retain 25% of them in the regular cadre for 15 more years after another round of screening.

It also aims to enhance the operational preparedness of the armed forces, and create a skilled and dynamic workforce for employment in other sectors, top government officials said. There will be no other avenue for recruitment for personnel below officer rank (PBOR) in the army, air force and navy.

The armed forces will recruit 46,000 Agniveers – in the age group of 17-and-a-half and 21 years – this year, the defence ministry said.

The scheme, however, was criticised by some veterans who argued that its disadvantages may outweigh the advantages. “The government should have launched a pilot project to weigh the pros and cons of the scheme before announcing it. The scheme will erode the ethos of the units and the regimental system,” military affairs expert Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd) said after the announcement.

He added that if the rehabilitation of the people who are let go after four years is not ensured, it could lead to social problems, and law and order issues.

“Apart from eroding the ethos of the regimental system, the scheme will also lead to frustration among those who are rejected by the army and not retained in service after four years,” he said.

The government’s CAPF plan appeared to address concerns over the future of the Agniveers who had completed their fouryear tour of duty.

“In a way, it will be a positive development for CAPFS because they will get trained men, but we don’t know the modalities yet so it is difficult to say where will these men be posted. Armed forces and CAPFS have a completely different way of functioning,” an officer said requesting anonymity.

According to government data available as of 2020, there were more than 100,000 vacancies in CAPFS — including Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Indo-tibetan Border Police (ITBP), Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), and the Assam Riles.

“Vacancies in CAPFS and Assam Rifles arise due to retirements, resignations, deaths, new raises, creation of new posts, cadre reviews, etc, and a majority of these vacancies are in the grade of constables,” a senior home ministry official said, requesting anonymity.

At present, the total strength of the CAPFS and the AR is 930,000, including 34,000 women.