It has been reported in the media that CMD BSNL R.K.Upadhyay stated that for offering  VRS an amount of Rs. 4,000 crore can be spent by BSNL and the rest ( about Rs. 14,000 crore) has to be provided by DOT. For one thing, if the entire proposed amount of Rs, 18,000 crore is given for BSNL, it can develop and expand and the company will become financially viable. The cash crunch can be made good.  So why spend for VRS when that amount can be utilised for better purposes?

Secondly, from where BSNL is going to spend Rs.4,000 crore for VRS? How can BSNL spend the money for VRS instead of development?

The management has to answer these vital questions before proceeding with VRS.

The truth has come from the horse mouth itself. In answer to a Parliament Question, the Finance Ministry has intimated that a subsidy of Rs. 4.6 lakh crore has been given towards direct tax incentives, exemptions, profit and investment linked deductions and other subsidies to the corporates and the rich. Rs. 3.73 lakh crore in central excise and custom duties alone was given.

But what about the poor in the country? The total subsidy given is only 1.44 lakh crore. It was 1.54  lakh crore in 2010-11 which has been reduced to 1.44 lakh crore in 2011-12. At the same time the subsidy increased from Rs. 4.37 lakh in 2009-2010 to Rs. 4.6 lakh crore in 2010-11 for the rich.

This UPA government, no doubt, is a government of the rich and not aam admi as claimed. It always in on the side of the MNCs, the corporates and the big business. Once again it stands proved by its actions, as in the case of its aggressive role to being 51% FDI in multi-brand retail trade, , though  it failed for the present,that it stands for the rich.

Now wives of overseas people ( like Indians )  in Britain will not be allowed in the country unless they know English. A recent court ruling has made it compulsory, which is going to create a lot of difficulties for the lakhs of people who are working in Britain if their wives don’t know English. This is applicable for the children also.  There are a large number of foreigners in Britain, mainly from the Commonwealth countries, and this rule will adversely affect them all.

This ruling is completely against the right of the people for family life. The government of India should take up the matter with the U.K.government. If India pass such a rule stating that any foreigner or his spouse staying in India should know Hindi, what will happen?

Usually, the cold becomes severe after 21st December. But his time it has started earlier. In Delhi the temperature has come down to 5.0 degree. In Agra, Amritsar etc it has reached even 2-2.5 degrees. In Haryana and Rajasthan also it is the same. In J&K places like famous tourist spot Gulmarg has recorded a minimum temperature of below  minus 8 degree. Cold wave is blowing through out the north.

20 persons have been reported dead due to severe cold so far. There has been much delay in organising the night shelters in Delhi which caused great distress to the street vendors, beggars, homeless etc.

However, in Delhi at day time there is sun and the temperatures go up to 15-20, but by 1600 hours the cold starts taking over the situation.  In the morning by 0700-0800 hours on school days, one can see the children fully clad with warm clothes, but still shivering, going  schools.

At the same time, winter is the time of many celebrations and a large number of marriages take place in this season. One has to adjust to the climate and live on.

Two days back the organisers of the 4th South Asian Telecom Employees’ Unions Council Meeting contacted me and invited me to attend the Meeting to be held at Kathmandu on 20-21 December 2011. Though at very short notice I agreed to attend after the Director, Kun Wardana Abyoto made a personal request.   I was also asked to present a report on the Telecom Scenario in India.

I shall leave for Kathmandu by the evening of 19th (tomorrow) and will return by the night of 21st December.

It seems that the case against the former Finance minister P.Chidambaram is thickening with the self evidence of Janata party President Subramania Swamy’s deposition in the Delhi Special Court in connection with the case filed by him in 2G scam. He has alleged that both former Communications Minister Raja and former Finance Minister Chidambaram were in active connivance in taking decision to fix the entry fee and spectrum charges in 2008 at the 2001 rates and allow Swan Telecom and Unitech Wieless to offload shares to Etisalat and Telenor before the roll out os services.

Even earlier, the role of the former Finance minster has been raised in the Parliament by the opposition. Prime Minister’s role also may be questioned.

It is good that the Delhi government has issued  orders to pay wages of labours through checques only. This is being done to avoid exploitation, underpayment and corruption. I appreciate this order.

BSNL management has also issued orders that the payment is to be made by cheques or in the Bank in the account of the worker. But who is implementing. Despite bringing the facts to the top management several times, it is not taking any interest to get its own orders got implemented by the field level officers.  If the management was sincere, it could have settled the issue quickly.

It is once again revealed that the private companies are doing their business by utilising the money of the public in various ways. One method is selling the shares. The easy method is to take loans from the banks or pressurise the banks to take shares. This method is maximum used in pumping funds to the private telecom sector. It is reported that as on June 2011, the loans etc. from the banks to the private telecom industry is more than Rs. 94,319 crore. From the State Bank of India (SBI) alone an amount of Rs. 23,000 crore has been exposed to the private telecom companies. It is to be noted that there are only about a dozen telecom companies, meaning that the loans etc. are thousands of crore.

What will happen if some of these companies fail and lose their money. Naturally it will not be owners of the companies but the banks and people who deposited their hard earned  money in the banks.  They may be bailed out by the government also.

Private companies are the blue eyed boys of the government. They will be given all bail-outs. BSNL and MTNL are PSU companies. They are government companies  for which the bail-out is not in the agenda of the government.

It seems surprising that even after the TRAI, DOT, TERM etc. has clearly spelt out that the 3G roaming service being provided by the private telecom companies Airtel, Vodafone and Idea, in circles where they have not bid for auction of the spectrum is illegal and violation of the licence conditions, the government is not prepared to take any action. It is dilly-dallying with the matter to find out an excuse route for the companies. The COAI,  the organisation of these companies have demanded the government that, if they are not allowed to roaming as being provided as now, they should be returned their auction free. The Prime Minister a few days ago at the meeting of the India Telecom assured that their concern will be attended to, meaning some bail out  will be made available.

I am completely opposed to the bailout. Instead,  these  penalty should be imposed on them, the Spectrum cancelled and penal action taken against them for cheating the government and the nation. Pressure should be mounted upon the government for the same.