Spectrum auction likely to be finalised in September

The government on Friday said the telecom department expects to hold a mega spectrum auction in September, through which it hopes to garner Rs 5.66 lakh core.

Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha made a statement in this regard. Last month, the Union Cabinet had approved the spectrum auction plan. On call drops, Sinha assured that he expects "qualitative progress" on the issue in the coming five-six months. 

"The Department of Telecom will work on the framework for providing relief from call drops in the long term," he said, adding that the issue will be discussed in the next 15-20 days. Asked about Congress' allegations of a telecom scam, he said, "Whatever happened in the past has nothing to do with this government." "Since the time this government has come to power, there has been no such complaints. The process of recovering money from telecom operators will be completed in definite time," Sinha said.

‘Telecom scam is UPA’s’

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Congress’s attempt to raise the “bogey” of a huge telecom scam under the NDA government was an example of its “art of scoring self-goals” as it pertained to a period when the UPA was in power.