|
NEW DELHI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman
Pradip Baijal retired today from service after an eventful three-year
tenure as the chief regulator and a civil services career spanning
40 years.
During his tenure as the Trai chief, Baijal has been instrumental
in bringing various telecom services within the reach of ordinary
people as prices fell and tele-density increased.
Under him, Trai also stood its ground in guarding the price line of
cable TV services and did away with premiums to be paid on exclusive
content much to the chagrin of pay broadcasters.
On his last day today, Baijal is said to have told a close associate
that he’s going away with a sense of pride for having stood up
for consumers’ rights about which much still needs to be done.
Baijal is likely to be succeeded by former telecommunications secretary
Nripendra Misra, who presently heads a Centre for Department of Telematics-Alacatel
joint venture as its chairman.
Misra, according to telecom ministry sources, is the front-runner
for the top post at Trai, though last-minute calisthenics could
see a surprise candidate being sprung on the telecom and broadcast
industries, which are going through changing times and grappling
with introduction of new norms and technologies.
Baijal, a 1966 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the
Madhya Pradesh cadre, was a hand-on person taking personal interest
in important issues like changes to the access deficit charge (ADC)
that punctured mobile phone bills and proposing a comprehensive
rollout plan for the vexed issue of CAS, which, however, is gathering
dust at the I&B ministry.
“Mr. Baijal was a result driven person, taking personal interest
in key issues regarding the industry,” an associates of Baijal
at Trai told Indiantelevision.com.
In fact, it was Baijal who is credited with suggesting a reduction
in ADC, a fee that private telecom operators pay to the state-owned
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and its eventual withdrawal by 2009.
Even towards the end of his inning at Trai, Baijal continued to
aggressively support and push for unified licensing under which
a licencee can offer telecom, infotech and broadcasting services
on a single licence.
The new chairman’s name is yet to be notified by the government
and could take some days. In the interim, the senior-most member-secretary
could function as the head of Trai.
Former secretary of the department of telecom (DoT) Misra is said
to be front runner for the top Trai post. The name of GD Gaiha,
chairman of Telecommunications Consultant of India LTD (TCIL) is
doing the rounds of the media to replace Dr DPS. Seth as a member.
In recent times, Baijal’s stature had risen so much that its
parent, the telecom ministry, had started feeling uncomfortable.
The government is likely to get a low profile person as Trai chairman
to avoid run-ins with the telecom minister.
Misra, a 1967 IAS officer, had worked closely with the present
communications and IT minister Dayanidhi Maran whose elder brother
and family control the South Indian media power house Sun TV group.
|
