Twelve days into the auction for 3G spectrum, the government has already surpassed its target of Rs 30,000 crore, as the pan-India licence reached a bid of about Rs 7,600 crore, up by over 117 per cent from the base price of Rs 3,500 crore.
The government would now rake in a minimum revenue of Rs 30,400 crore after 12 days of auction, which started on April 9. The government had budgeted for Rs 35,000 crore from the auctions of 3G and broadband wireless access (BWA), of which Rs 30,000 crore is likely to come from 3G alone. Auction for BWA will start after two days of the close of 3G auction. Out of a total of 22 circles for the 3G spectrum, 17 have three slots, while in rest of the five circles, four blocks of spectrum are available. Communications and IT Minister A Raja today said in Parliament that the government’s revenues from the auction might go up to Rs 50,000 crore.
“The auction is expected to take another week to complete, as bidders’ activity is still 80 per cent,” a senior official from the Department of Telecommunications said.
The bid price for the Delhi circle continued to be the highest as it reached Rs 1,030.72 crore, followed by Mumbai at Rs 989.48 crore. Both the circles have a base price of Rs 320 crore. A total of 70 rounds of bidding were completed till the 12th day.
The demand for 3G spectrum in Category C circles picked up a bit on the 12th day of auction, with Orissa having three bidders and Jammu & Kashmir one.
However, there were still no takers for Assam.
