Industrialist Ratan Tata has said he sometimes regrets being in telecom. In an interview to NDTV, he replied in the affirmative when asked whether he ever regretted being in the telecom business. “Yes, because of inconsistencies in the policy... Because of the bias that exists... Yes, sometimes I do, but it is a great area,” he said.
Severely criticising the inconsistencies in government policies, Tata said India was going against former leaders Nehru and Indira Gandhi’s idea of being self-sufficient.
He said the Tata group had been disadvantaged repeatedly because of conditions becoming a little vague, implemented funnily and eligibility of capability being abused at the time of awarding major contracts.
To a different query, he said telecom was an example where the government policy was not implemented in the manner and spirit it was intended, adding: “It has been modified several times to suit individuals. Initially, it may have been public sector incumbencies. Then, it was one segment or the other... Usually behind any change, behind any deviation, it is a vested interest.” He, however, said that nobody had asked for money from the group in the telecom sector.
Tata expressed dismay that contrary to greater adherence to policies earlier, today the interpretation of the policy had become very vague. “So, eventually you find that you are arguing on something that the other side interprets in a manner that is so bully and vague that you come away of that meeting thinking that I am never going to be able to do so,” he said.