Raja ushers in winds of change

New winds are blowing in the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology offices at Sanchar Bhavan.

The new minister, A Raja, has brought about significant changes in the ministry. The first set of changes relate to manpower. Unsurprisingly, the new minister's personal staff has replaced Maran's. A major revamp of the crucial Wireless Planning & Coordination Wing (that decides the policy on spectrum for not just telecom operators but also all other users in the country) was ordered on July 5.

Accompanying it was a rather astonishing office instruction ""if the wireless advisor, who heads the wing, does not clear files in two days, they will automatically be referred to his junior. An experienced media advisor from the Indian Information Service was asked to make way for a new one.

The successor to a retiring chairman and managing director of a large state owned telecom company may now find that the process will now no longer be automatic. A purge of the so-called Maran men is on the cards.

Maran had virtually forced major global telecom equipment vendors to set up manufacturing bases in Tamil Nadu. Raja has not changed that. But procurement decisions of public sector undertakings under his charge are being reviewed.

Raja has instructed the board of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) to reconsider the way it is purchasing 45 million mobile lines (including buying third generation (3G) mobile service capacity), the largest ever in its history and badly needed capacity that will allow the company to cruise along without further capacity addition for the next several years.

As this is technology that suffers rapid obsolescence, prices drop every year. It is alleged that the prospective vendors (Ericsson and Nokia) would have managed a tidy profit because the government has agreed to buy at today's prices, products for several years to come.

Raja has asked the vendors to cut prices, not just because he wants lower costs, but perhaps because he is aware that BSNL's existing mobile capacity has not yet been fully utilised! The late BJP strongman Pramod Mahajan also took on the very same companies and made them cut prices within days.

This time around, getting them to toe the line may take more persuasion, but the lawyer in Raja seems to have cut to the core of the voluminous files related to the BSNL mobile order. Raja is also aware of other delayed purchases, including the defence optical network, which has more serious ramifications on the overall telecom scenario of the country.

Observers feel that if Raja has his way this time, he will emerge into a position of strength, which will give him a free hand to exercise options in the future, whenever he wants.

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) politician has also sent out a strong signal to the United Progressive Alliance cabinet on the issue of spectrum.

The policy on providing additional radio frequencies and also for 3G services is yet to be finalised. The matter is with a Group of Ministers (GoM) because the armed forces are required to vacate a part of the spectrum and occupy new frequencies.

Recently, Raja let Defence Minister AK Antony know that the GoM did not really need to meet for the next three to four months "" his ministry would contact the armed forces and try to work out a modus-vivendi that could then come up before the GoM when necessary. Maran worked with the GoM by obstructing it "" Raja is reclaiming as his, a matter related to his ministry.

In Tamil Nadu, the Maran enterprise, in political terms, is history. Therefore no tears are being shed in the DMK for the family. It is hardly surprising that this should reflect in the communications ministry as well.